The quality of the air, water, and soil we live in, are undoubtedly an important determinant of the quality of life we do. Unfortunately the year 2020 is expected to be gloomy again in terms of pollution in the country. Again, this is why Macedonia and Albania are Europe's most polluted countries.

According to the Pollution Index published by Numbeo.com, the two Balkan countries and the city-state of Monaco scored the highest points in the index. In 2020, the Pollution Index in Macedonia reached 80.23 points, while in Albania it reached 77.77 points. The Pollution Index in Albania has deteriorated in the last two years. At the beginning of 2018 this index was rated at 75.2 points.

To generate a current index (which is always updated) Numbeo uses data collected for up to 36 months. Numbeo only includes cities for which there are at least a certain number of contributors. The index is published twice a year.

The Pollution Index is an estimate of the total pollution in a given city. Greater weight is given to air pollution than to water pollution / access, which are the two main factors of pollution. While a little weight is given to other types of pollution.

Thus, if we look at the map generated from the data collected by NUMBEO, Eastern Europe continues to be the most polluted in Europe.

The top 10 most polluted countries after Albania are Bulgaria with an index of 65.33 points, Ukraine with 65.08, Bosnia and Herzegovina with 62.33, Serbia with 60.2, and Romania with 58.2.

On the other hand, the countries with the lowest pollution are those of Western Europe. Europe's least polluted country is Finland, where according to Numbeo it has scored just 11.55 points. Iceland ranks second with 16.21 points, followed by Sweden with 18.09 points.

Estonia and Norway also scored less than 20 points in terms of pollution indicators in these countries.

The list of ten least polluted countries ranks: Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Luxembourg

Source: Monitor