This technical note serves as the main reference for the updated Aqueduct™ water risk framework, in which combine 13 water risk indicators—including quantity, quality, and reputational risks—into a composite overall water risk score.

Asia and the Pacific’s unrelenting industrial development has been a driving force in the economic growth of scores of countries in the region and beyond. This shift has led to greater prosperity, increased urbanization and sustained population growth.

The report assesses bathing water quality in 2018, indicating where the quality of bathing water is expected to be good in 2019. The report was compiled using information from more than 21 000 bathing waters in the 28 EU Member States. It also covers bathing waters in Albania and Switzerland.

Prudent economic policies, combined with the enabling conditions created by a high endowment of water, have transformed Vietnam from a low-income to a middle-income country within two decades. Though growth has produced vast benefits, it has also placed unrelenting pressures on water resources, which in turn lead to economic stresses.