According to the latest Water Statistics from Eurostat, Croatia has recorded the highest freshwater resources in the European Union with 27,330 m³ per inhabitant.

Croatia is followed by Finland and Sweden with 20,000 m³, whilst the six most populous EU member countries (France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Italy and Poland), as well as Denmark, Luxembourg, Romania, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Malta recorded relatively low levels – below 3,000 m³ per inhabitant.

Even though Croatia is ‘’lying’’ on the water due to its abundant freshwater resources which are 16 times larger than it is considered as the minimum necessary for normal living, Croats spend a small amount of water, around 45 m³ per inhabitant in the household sector a year. On the other hand, in the country with far less freshwater resources, Cypriots spend around twice as much as Croats. On the average Croatian households spend as much as households in Germany, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Great Britain – moderately.

Regardless of the fact that Croatia is rich in freshwater, it is still much more expensive in comparison to other EU countries. For example, a household in Zagreb pays 15 Kunas per 1 m³ without additional fixed fees, whilst a household in Sweden, which is less rich in freshwater, but with a better living standard, pays 9,5 Kunas per 1 m³. Germany and the Netherlands with far less freshwater resources than Croatia pay around 14 Kunas per 1 m³, whilst Hungary with three times less water resources than Croatia pays around 5 Kunas.

On the other hand, Finland has the highest monthly water bills that amount from a minimum 19 Kunas to even 120 Kunas per 1 m³, depending on the part of the country. However, it is important to note than the average salary in Finland is almost 3,000 Euros a month in comparison to the average monthly salary of around 800 Euros in Croatia.