According to data from EU statistics office Eurostat, the figures were released to review the degree of readiness of cities and communities in the EU under the European Commission’s Sustainable Development Objectives.


In Portugal, 23.5 percent of people surveyed in 2017 said that they were exposed to excessive noise, a percentage that was only beaten by Germany (26.1 percent), the Netherlands (25.6 percent) and Malta (24.9 percent).


The least self-reported exposure to noise was in Estonia (8.2 percent), Croatia (8.6 percent) and Ireland (9 percent) – all well below the EU average of 17.5 percent.


In terms of the amount of municipal waste recycled as compared to total waste generated, Portugal in 2017 ranked eighth among those that recycled least, at 28.4 percent, below the EU average of 46.4 percent.


The member states with the highest rate of recycling of municipal waste were Germany (67.6 percent), Slovenia (57.8 percent) and Austria (57.7 percent), while those with lowest rates were Malta (6.4 percent), Romania (13.9 percent) and Cyprus (16.1 percent).


Another parameter assessed was exposure to air pollution (taking into account smaller particles), where Portugal again did worse than the EU average, with a mean 12 microgrammes per cubic metre against the 14.1-microgramme average. The country ranked in the middle of the table of 28 member states.


The EU country with the greatest exposure to air pollution in 2017 was Poland, followed by Bulgaria and Hungary, while the least exposed were Finland, Estonia and Sweden.


The EU’s approach on the Sustainable Development Objectives was presented at the end of 2016 by the commission, in line with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030.