Worldwide Rating of Drinking Wa

Worldwide Rating of Drinking Water Safety

What is SWIT Rating?

The Worldwide Rating of Drinking Water Safety, prepared by Safe Water for International Travelers and nicknamed SWIT Rating, is a classification of drinking water safety that gives a broad indication of the health risks related with drinking water, to which international travelers may be exposed in every country of the world. The rating is based on significant indicators produced by World Health Organization, Unicef, World Bank and UN Development Program. There are defined five classes of drinking water safety:

· 5 Drops Countries
All cities have safe water supplies, which are monitored and regularly tested by an independent and qualified board, and drinking water quality is the standard in developed countries. Waterborne diseases are almost inexistent. Only about 20% of the world countries have this top classification.

· 4 Drops Countries
Main cities have generally safe water supplies, which are monitored and regularly tested by an independent board, but level of service of rural and small towns systems could be substandard. Prevalence of waterborne diseases is low.

· 3 Drops Countries
The level of service quality varies considerably between urban and rural residence, and between regions. Some systems comply with WHO Guidelines, but many of them have intermittent service and lack of disinfection. Monitoring and testing is not fully reliable. Some waterborne diseases are endemic.

· 2 Drops Countries
Some water supplies comply with WHO Guidelines, but most of them not. There is not permanent monitoring and testing. Usually water quality is not good. Prevalence of waterborne diseases is high.

· 1 Drop Countries
Is almost impossible to find drinking water that complies with WHO Guidelines. There is not monitoring and testing. Waterborne diseases are the main cause of infant mortality. Usually is dangerous for foreign visitors to drink tap water.

Below is the complete list of the Rating of Drinking Water Safety Worldwide.

*COUNTRY*	*RATING*	*REGION*
Afghanistan		Middle South Asia
Albania		West Europa
Algeria		Northern Africa
American Samoa		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Andorra		West Europa
Angola		Sub-Saharan Africa
Anguilla		Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda		Caribbean
Argentina		Temperate South America
Armenia		Middle South Asia
Aruba		Caribbean
Australia		Main Oceania
Austria		West Europa
Azerbaijan		Middle South Asia
Bahamas		Caribbean
Bahrain		Western South Asia
Bangladesh		Middle South Asia
Barbados		Caribbean
Belarus		Eastern Europe
Belgium		Western Europe
Belize		Central America
Benin		Sub-Saharan Africa
Bermuda		North America
Bhutan		Middle South Asia
Bolivia		Tropical South America
Bosnia and Herzegovina		Eastern Europe
Botswana		Southern Africa
Brazil		Tropical South America
British Virgin Islands		Caribbean
Brunei		Eastern South Asia
Bulgaria		Eastern Europe
Burkina Faso		Sub-Saharan Africa
Burundi		Sub-Saharan Africa
Cambodia		Eastern South Asia
Cameroon		Sub-Saharan Africa
Canada		North America
Cape Verde		Sub-Saharan Africa
Cayman Islands		Caribbean
Chad		Sub-Saharan Africa
Chile		Temperate South America
China		East Asia
Colombia		Tropical South America
Comoros		Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo		Sub-Saharan Africa
Congo, Democratic Republic of the		Sub-Saharan Africa
Cook Islands		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Costa Rica		Central America
Côte d'Ivoire		Sub-Saharan Africa
Croatia		Eastern Europe
Cuba		Caribbean
Cyprus		Western South Asia
Czech Republic		Eastern Europe
Denmark		Western Europe
Djibouti		Sub-Saharan Africa
Dominica		Caribbean
Dominican Republic		Caribbean
East Timor		Eastern South Asia
Ecuador		Tropical South America
Egypt		Northern Africa
El Salvador		Central America
Equatorial Guinea		Sub-Saharan Africa
Eritrea		Sub-Saharan Africa
Estonia		Eastern Europe
Ethiopia		Sub-Saharan Africa
Faeroe		Western Europe
Falkland Islands(Malvinas)		Temperate South America
Fiji		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Finland		Western Europe
France		Western Europe
French Guiana		Tropical South America
French Polynesia		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Gabon		Sub-Saharan Africa
Gambia		Sub-Saharan Africa
Gaza Strip		Western South Asia
Georgia		Middle South Asia
Germany		Western Europe
Ghana		Sub-Saharan Africa
Gibraltar		Western Europe
Greece		Eastern Europe
Greenland		North America
Grenada		Caribbean
Guadeloupe		Caribbean
Guam		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Guatemala		Central America
Guinea		Sub-Saharan Africa
Guinea Bissau		Sub-Saharan Africa
Guyana		Tropical South America
Haiti		Caribbean
Holy See		Europe
Honduras		Central America
Hong Kong		East Asia
Hungary		Eastern Europe
Iceland		Western Europe
India		Middle South Asia
Indonesia		Eastern South Asia
Iran		Middle South Asia
Iraq		Western South Asia
Ireland		Western Europe
Isle of Man		Western Europe
Israel		Western South Asia
Italy		Western Europe
Jamaica		Caribbean
Japan		East Asia
Jordan		Western South Asia
Kazakhstan		Middle South Asia
Kenya		Sub-Saharan Africa
Kiribati		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Korea, Democratic People'sRepublic of		East Asia
Korea, Republic of		East Asia
Kuwait		Western South Asia
Kyrgyzstan		Middle South Asia
Laos		Eastern South Asia
Latvia		Eastern Europe
Lebanon		Western South Asia
Lesotho		Southern Africa
Liberia		Sub-Saharan Africa
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya		Northern Africa
Liechtenstein		Western Europe
Lithuania		Eastern Europe
Luxembourg		Western Europe
Macau		East Asia
Macedonia		Eastern Europe
Madagascar		Sub-Saharan Africa
Malawi		Sub-Saharan Africa
Malaysia		Eastern South Asia
Maldives		Middle South Asia
Mali		Sub-Saharan Africa
Malta		Western Europe
Marshall Islands		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Martinique		Caribbean
Mauritania		Sub-Saharan Africa
Mauritius		Sub-Saharan Africa
Mexico		North America
Micronesia (Federated States of)		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Moldova		Eastern Europe
Monaco		Western Europe
Mongolia		East Asia
Montserrat		Caribbean
Morocco		Northern Africa
Mozambique		Sub-Saharan Africa
Myanmar		Eastern South Asia
Namibia		Southern Africa
Nauru		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Nepal		Middle South Asia
Netherlands		Western Europe
Netherlands Antilles		Caribbean
New Caledonia		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
New Zealand		Main Oceania
Nicaragua		Central America
Niger		Sub-Saharan Africa
Nigeria		Sub-Saharan Africa
Niue		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Northern Mariana Islands		elanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Norway		Western Europe
Oman		Western South Asia
Pakistan		Middle South Asia
Palau		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Panama		Central America
Papua New Guinea		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Paraguay		Tropical South America
Peru		Tropical South America
Philippines		Eastern South Asia
Pitcairn		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Poland		Eastern Europe
Portugal		Western Europe
Puerto Rico		Caribbean
Qatar		Western South Asia
Réunion		Sub-Saharan Africa
Romania		Eastern Europe
Russian Federation		Eastern Europe
Rwanda		Sub-Saharan Africa
Saint Helena		Southern Africa
Saint Kitts and Nevis		Caribbean
Saint Lucia		Caribbean
Saint Pierre and Miquelon		North America
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		Caribbean
Samoa		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
San Marino		Western Europe
Sao Tome and Principe		Sub-Saharan Africa
Saudi Arabia		Western South Asia
Senegal		Sub-Saharan Africa
Seychelles		Sub-Saharan Africa
Sierra Leone		Sub-Saharan Africa
Singapore		Eastern South Asia
Slovakia		Eastern Europe
Slovenia		Eastern Europe
Solomon Islands		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Somalia		Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa		Southern Africa
Spain		Western Europe
Sri Lanka		Middle South Asia
Sudan		Sub-Saharan Africa
Suriname		Tropical South America
Swaziland		Southern Africa
Sweden		Western Europe
Switzerland		Western Europe
Syrian Arab Republic		Western South Asia
Taiwan		East Asia
Tajikistan		Middle South Asia
Tanzania		Sub-Saharan Africa
Thailand		Eastern South Asia
Togo		Sub-Saharan Africa
Tokelau		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Tonga		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Trinidad and Tobago		Caribbean
Tunisia		Northern Africa
Turkey		Western South Asia
Turkmenistan		Middle South Asia
Turks and Caicos Islands		Caribbean
Tuvalu		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Uganda		Sub-Saharan Africa
Ukraine		Eastern Europe
United Arab Emirates		Western South Asia
United Kingdom		Western Europe
United States of America		North America
Uruguay		Temperate South America
US Virgin Islands		Caribbean
Uzbekistan		Middle South Asia
Vanuatu		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Venezuela		Tropical South America
Vietnam		Eastern South Asia
Wallis and Futuna Islands		Melanesia and Micronesia-Polynesia
Western Sahara		Northern Africa
Yemen		Western South Asia
Yugoslavia		Eastern Europe
Zambia		Sub-Saharan Africa
Zimbabwe		Sub-Saharan Africa

Criteria	5 Drops Countries	4 Drops Countries	3 Drops Countries	2 Drops Countries	1 Drop Countries
RATING
INCOME LEVEL	High or Upper Middle (GNP>9360 U$S or PPP> 11300U$S)	Upper Middle (GNP>4900 U$S or PPP> 8320 U$S)	Lower Middle (GNP>2000 U$S or PPP> 4880 U$S)	Low (GNP>1200 U$S or PPP>1800 U$S)	Very Low (GNP<1200 U$S or PPP <1800U$S)
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX	More than 0.85	More than 0.80	More than 0.7	More than 0.5	Less than 0.5
INFANT MORTALITY	Less than 10 per 1000 infants born	Less than 20 per 1000 infants born	Less than 50 per 1000 infants born	Less than 80 per 1000 infants born	More than 80 per 1000 infants born
MONITORING AND TESTING	Independent Qualified Reliable	Independent	Varies from city to city.	Not independent nor reliable	Inexistent
UNINTERRUPTED SUPPLY AND ADEQUATE DISINFECTION	Yes, in every city and town	Yes, in main cities	Varies from city to city	Intermittent supply in many cities. Inadequate disinfection	Intermittent supply and lack of disinfection almost anywhere.