Is the tap water safe to drink? By country

Whether tap water is generally safe for visitors. "Varies" means it depends on the region or the building — ask locally before you fill a bottle.

164 of the 176 countries on the map · 12 not checked, and listed as such Passport Pin guide · checked 22 Aug 2026 · 135 countries Passport Pin guide · checked 10 Aug 2026 · 29 countries

Visa & entry Driving side Plugs & powerWater safetyEmergency numbers

Tap water safe · 37Varies — ask · 30Drink bottled · 97Not checked · 12

Country	Tap water	Local note
Europe 40
🇦🇱Albania	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is intermittent outside the cities and treatment is uneven.
🇦🇹Austria	Tap water is safe	Vienna's comes off the Alps by aqueduct and is better than most bottled.
🇧🇾Belarus	Varies — ask locally	Chlorinated and treated in Minsk; iron staining is common outside it.
🇧🇪Belgium	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
🇧🇦Bosnia and Herz.	Varies — ask locally	Sarajevo's is mountain water and excellent. Less certain in rural areas.
🇧🇬Bulgaria	Tap water is safe	Fine countrywide, and the mountain spring taps are a national habit.
🇭🇷Croatia	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe nationwide.
🇨🇿Czechia	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe nationwide.
🇩🇰Denmark	Tap water is safe	Tap water is excellent.
🇪🇪Estonia	Tap water is safe	—
🇫🇮Finland	Tap water is safe	Among the cleanest in the world, and Finns will tell you so.
🇫🇷France	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe — ask for "une carafe d’eau".
🇩🇪Germany	Tap water is safe	Fine everywhere, and almost nobody orders it — sparkling bottled water is the default and you will have to ask.
🇬🇷Greece	Varies — ask locally	Fine in Athens and on the mainland. On several islands the supply is brackish and locals drink bottled — ask.
🇭🇺Hungary	Tap water is safe	—
🇮🇸Iceland	Tap water is safe	Straight from the tap, and better than the bottled. Hot water smells of sulphur; that is normal.
🇮🇪Ireland	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
🇮🇹Italy	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe — Rome’s street fountains included.
🇽🇰Kosovo	Not checked yet	—
🇱🇻Latvia	Tap water is safe	—
🇱🇹Lithuania	Tap water is safe	—
🇱🇺Luxembourg	Tap water is safe	—
🇲🇩Moldova	Drink bottled	Bottled. Rural supply is largely untreated wells.
🇲🇪Montenegro	Varies — ask locally	Fine in the coastal towns and Podgorica; bottled in the mountain villages.
🇽🇳N. Cyprus	Not checked yet	—
🇳🇱Netherlands	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
🇲🇰North Macedonia	Varies — ask locally	Fine in Skopje and Ohrid; ask in the villages.
🇳🇴Norway	Tap water is safe	Tap water is excellent.
🇵🇱Poland	Tap water is safe	Fine in the cities since the mains were replaced; older buildings still put people off.
🇵🇹Portugal	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe nationwide.
🇷🇴Romania	Varies — ask locally	Potable in the cities and widely drunk; bottled is still the habit in villages.
🇷🇺Russia	Drink bottled	St Petersburg's supply carries a long-standing giardia risk and locals filter it. Moscow's is treated to a higher standard but bottled is still the norm.
🇷🇸Serbia	Varies — ask locally	Good in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Ask in the south and in the villages.
🇸🇰Slovakia	Tap water is safe	—
🇸🇮Slovenia	Tap water is safe	Ljubljana's is famously good and the fountains are drinking fountains.
🇪🇸Spain	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe nationwide.
🇸🇪Sweden	Tap water is safe	Tap water is excellent.
🇨🇭Switzerland	Tap water is safe	Including most public fountains, which are fed from the same supply.
🇺🇦Ukraine	Drink bottled	Filtered or bottled. Most households run their own filter.
🇬🇧United Kingdom	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
Asia 46
🇦🇫Afghanistan	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled everywhere, Kabul included.
🇦🇲Armenia	Varies — ask locally	Yerevan's is spring-fed and the street fountains are drinking fountains; bottled in the regions.
🇦🇿Azerbaijan	Drink bottled	Bottled. Baku's supply is treated but heavily chlorinated and old in the pipes.
🇧🇩Bangladesh	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled everywhere. Arsenic in the groundwater is a real and separate problem.
🇧🇹Bhutan	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled; hotels provide flasks.
🇧🇳Brunei	Varies — ask locally	Treated to a high standard and widely drunk; hotels still put bottles out.
🇰🇭Cambodia	Drink bottled	—
🇨🇳China	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled. Hot-water dispensers are in every station, hotel and office for exactly this reason.
🇨🇾Cyprus	Not checked yet	—
🇬🇪Georgia	Varies — ask locally	Tbilisi’s supply is mountain-fed and widely drunk. Outside the cities, ask.
🇮🇳India	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered, and check the seal.
🇮🇩Indonesia	Drink bottled	Bottled or refilled gallon water only.
🇮🇷Iran	Varies — ask locally	Drinkable in Tehran, Esfahan and Shiraz. Yazd and the desert towns run hard and heavily mineral, and most people buy bottled there.
🇮🇶Iraq	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere. Treatment infrastructure has not recovered.
🇮🇱Israel	Tap water is safe	—
🇯🇵Japan	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe nationwide.
🇯🇴Jordan	Varies — ask locally	Treated and generally fine in Amman. Water is scarce and often stored in roof tanks, so bottled is the habit.
🇰🇿Kazakhstan	Varies — ask locally	Treated and generally fine in Almaty and Astana; bottled everywhere else.
🇰🇼Kuwait	Tap water is safe	Desalinated and treated to a high standard, and Kuwaitis drink it. Bottled is still the habit.
🇰🇬Kyrgyzstan	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled. Mountain spring water is what locals actually drink.
🇱🇦Laos	Drink bottled	Bottled. Refill stations are common in Luang Prabang and Vientiane.
🇱🇧Lebanon	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is intermittent and most buildings run on delivered tanks.
🇲🇾Malaysia	Drink bottled	Treated at the plant; the pipes are the problem. Boiled or bottled.
🇲🇳Mongolia	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled, including in Ulaanbaatar.
🇲🇲Myanmar	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Hotels refill from filtered tanks.
🇳🇵Nepal	Drink bottled	Filtered or boiled. Refill points are common on the trekking routes.
🇰🇵North Korea	Drink bottled	Bottled, which is what the tour provides.
🇴🇲Oman	Varies — ask locally	Desalinated and safe leaving the plant; it sits in roof tanks after that, so bottled is the habit.
🇵🇰Pakistan	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled everywhere.
🇵🇸Palestine	Not checked yet	—
🇵🇭Philippines	Drink bottled	Bottled, or from the purified refill stations on most streets.
🇶🇦Qatar	Varies — ask locally	Desalinated and safe leaving the plant; it sits in building tanks after that, so bottled is the norm.
🇸🇦Saudi Arabia	Varies — ask locally	Desalinated and safe leaving the plant; roof tanks after that, so bottled is universal.
🇰🇷South Korea	Varies — ask locally	Potable by law and by test. Almost nobody drinks it straight; filtered dispensers are everywhere and free.
🇱🇰Sri Lanka	Drink bottled	—
🇸🇾Syria	Drink bottled	Bottled. Infrastructure damage makes supply unpredictable.
🇹🇼Taiwan	Drink bottled	Boiled or filtered is the standard advice, and refill dispensers are in stations, schools and most convenience stores.
🇹🇯Tajikistan	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled, including in Dushanbe.
🇹🇭Thailand	Drink bottled	Bottled is the norm even for locals.
🇹🇱Timor-Leste	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled everywhere, including Dili.
🇹🇷Turkey	Drink bottled	Chlorinated and treated, and bottled is what everyone drinks — including in Istanbul.
🇹🇲Turkmenistan	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is heavily mineralised and treatment is uneven outside Ashgabat.
🇦🇪United Arab Emirates	Varies — ask locally	Desalinated and safe when it leaves the plant; it sits in building tanks after that, which is why bottled is the norm.
🇺🇿Uzbekistan	Drink bottled	Bottled. Tea is the safe default and it is offered constantly anyway.
🇻🇳Vietnam	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Ice in established places is generally made from treated water.
🇾🇪Yemen	Drink bottled	Bottled. Sanaa and Socotra both run on trucked and stored water.
Americas 31
🇦🇷Argentina	Varies — ask locally	Drinkable in Buenos Aires and the big cities. Elsewhere, ask.
🇧🇸Bahamas	Varies — ask locally	Desalinated and safe in Nassau and Paradise Island; bottled on the Out Islands.
🇧🇿Belize	Drink bottled	Bottled outside the main towns; the cayes run on rainwater and desalination.
🇧🇴Bolivia	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, and boiling takes longer at four thousand metres.
🇧🇷Brazil	Drink bottled	Treated, and almost nobody drinks it from the tap. Filtered water is standard in homes and hotels.
🇨🇦Canada	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
🇨🇱Chile	Tap water is safe	Safe, and heavily mineralised in the north — it tastes of the desert it came through.
🇨🇴Colombia	Varies — ask locally	Safe in Bogotá and Medellín, which is unusual for the region. Bottled on the coast and in the Amazon.
🇨🇷Costa Rica	Varies — ask locally	Safe in the Central Valley and most towns. Ask on the Caribbean coast and in remote areas.
🇨🇺Cuba	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled everywhere. Supply is unreliable and bottled water can be scarce, so carry it.
🇩🇴Dominican Rep.	Drink bottled	Bottled, including in resorts, and including for ice outside them.
🇪🇨Ecuador	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled, including in Quito.
🇸🇻El Salvador	Drink bottled	Bottled or purified everywhere.
🇫🇰Falkland Is.	Not checked yet	—
🇬🇱Greenland	Not checked yet	—
🇬🇹Guatemala	Drink bottled	Bottled or purified, including for brushing teeth.
🇬🇾Guyana	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled everywhere, including Georgetown.
🇭🇹Haiti	Drink bottled	Bottled or treated. Cholera has recurred since 2022.
🇭🇳Honduras	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, including the islands.
🇯🇲Jamaica	Varies — ask locally	Treated and fine in Kingston and the resort areas; bottled in the rural interior.
🇲🇽Mexico	Drink bottled	Bottled or purified. Restaurants use purified water and ice as a matter of course.
🇳🇮Nicaragua	Drink bottled	Bottled or purified. Managua's is treated; almost nowhere else is.
🇵🇦Panama	Varies — ask locally	Safe in Panama City and most of the country. Bottled in Bocas del Toro and the Guna Yala islands.
🇵🇾Paraguay	Drink bottled	Bottled. Tereré, cold mate, is what everyone actually drinks all day.
🇵🇪Peru	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled, and that includes at altitude where you will drink far more of it.
🇵🇷Puerto Rico	Tap water is safe	Meets US federal standards on the main island; bottled on Vieques and Culebra.
🇸🇷Suriname	Varies — ask locally	Paramaribo's is treated and drunk by locals; bottled in the interior.
🇹🇹Trinidad and Tobago	Varies — ask locally	Treated and generally fine in Trinidad; supply is intermittent, so most households filter.
🇺🇸United States of America	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe in cities and towns.
🇺🇾Uruguay	Tap water is safe	Potable countrywide, which is rare in South America and locals are proud of it.
🇻🇪Venezuela	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is intermittent and storage tanks are everywhere.
Africa 51
🇩🇿Algeria	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is treated but intermittent and heavily chlorinated.
🇦🇴Angola	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, including Luanda.
🇧🇯Benin	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled water, as everyone drinks.
🇧🇼Botswana	Varies — ask locally	Chlorinated and fine in the towns. In the Delta camps you drink what the camp filters.
🇧🇫Burkina Faso	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered, including in Ouagadougou.
🇧🇮Burundi	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is intermittent even in Bujumbura.
🇨🇲Cameroon	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, including Douala and Yaoundé.
🇨🇫Central African Rep.	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered without exception.
🇹🇩Chad	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered, carried in. Nothing outside N'Djamena is treated.
🇨🇬Congo	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Camps filter their own.
🇨🇮Côte d'Ivoire	Drink bottled	Bottled. Abidjan's supply is treated but the pipes are not trusted.
🇨🇩Dem. Rep. Congo	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, Kinshasa included.
🇩🇯Djibouti	Drink bottled	Bottled. Supply is desalinated and scarce, and the tap runs brackish.
🇪🇬Egypt	Drink bottled	Bottled, and check the seal before you pay for it.
🇬🇶Eq. Guinea	Drink bottled	Bottled, on the mainland and on Bioko alike.
🇪🇷Eritrea	Drink bottled	Bottled. Asmara rations supply and storage tanks are the norm.
🇸🇿eSwatini	Drink bottled	Fine in Mbabane and the main towns; bottled in the lowveld and rural areas.
🇪🇹Ethiopia	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, including Addis.
🇬🇦Gabon	Drink bottled	Bottled. Libreville's supply is treated but intermittent.
🇬🇲Gambia	Drink bottled	Bottled. Coastal supply is treated but brackish in places.
🇬🇭Ghana	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled water is what everyone drinks, including in Accra.
🇬🇳Guinea	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled. Conakry's supply is unreliable.
🇬🇼Guinea-Bissau	Drink bottled	Bottled. Almost nothing is treated outside Bissau.
🇰🇪Kenya	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered.
🇱🇸Lesotho	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled outside Maseru, and the country exports water it does not treat for itself.
🇱🇷Liberia	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled everywhere.
🇱🇾Libya	Drink bottled	Bottled. Desalinated supply is unreliable and often brackish.
🇲🇬Madagascar	Drink bottled	Bottled or treated everywhere.
🇲🇼Malawi	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Lodges filter their own and will refill a bottle.
🇲🇱Mali	Not checked yet	—
🇲🇷Mauritania	Drink bottled	Bottled. Nouakchott's is desalinated and brackish, and rural wells are not treated.
🇲🇦Morocco	Drink bottled	Treated in the cities, but bottled is what visitors are advised to drink.
🇲🇿Mozambique	Drink bottled	Bottled everywhere, including Maputo.
🇳🇦Namibia	Varies — ask locally	Safe in Windhoek and the main towns — the capital has recycled its own drinking water since 1968. Less certain in the far north.
🇳🇪Niger	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered, including in Niamey.
🇳🇬Nigeria	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled water is the norm for everyone, including in Lagos.
🇷🇼Rwanda	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered, including in Kigali.
🇸🇸S. Sudan	Not checked yet	—
🇸🇳Senegal	Drink bottled	Bottled. Dakar's supply is treated but intermittent, and it is salty.
🇸🇱Sierra Leone	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled, including in Freetown.
🇸🇴Somalia	Drink bottled	Bottled without exception.
🇽🇸Somaliland	Not checked yet	—
🇿🇦South Africa	Varies — ask locally	Treated and drinkable in the major cities. Rural supply varies — ask locally.
🇸🇩Sudan	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Nile-sourced supply is treated inconsistently.
🇹🇿Tanzania	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered, including for brushing teeth outside the cities.
🇹🇬Togo	Drink bottled	Sachet or bottled, including in Lomé.
🇹🇳Tunisia	Drink bottled	Chlorinated and heavily mineralised; bottled is what everyone drinks.
🇺🇬Uganda	Drink bottled	Boiled or bottled everywhere, including Kampala.
🇪🇭W. Sahara	Not checked yet	—
🇿🇲Zambia	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Lodges filter their own and will refill a bottle.
🇿🇼Zimbabwe	Drink bottled	Bottled or filtered. Municipal supply is unreliable and lodges filter their own.
Oceania 8
🇦🇺Australia	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
🇫🇯Fiji	Varies — ask locally	Treated town supply in Suva and Nadi. On the outer islands, drink what the resort gives you.
🇹🇫Fr. S. Antarctic Lands	Not checked yet	—
🇳🇨New Caledonia	Not checked yet	—
🇳🇿New Zealand	Tap water is safe	Tap water is safe everywhere.
🇵🇬Papua New Guinea	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled everywhere, including Port Moresby.
🇸🇧Solomon Is.	Drink bottled	Bottled or boiled. Most villages run on rainwater tanks.
🇻🇺Vanuatu	Drink bottled	Port Vila is treated; outside it most water is off a rainwater tank, so bottled or boiled.

Authored from public sources and dated above. Tell us if something has changed and we will re-check it.

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