# Water.Sofie

> Water.Sofie is an independent, multilingual (NL/EN/FR/DE/ES) reference for travellers and curious readers about tap-water drinkability around the world. Every country page answers one question: "Can I drink the tap water here?" with a clear status (safe / caution / unsafe / unknown), local tips, risks and sources.

Coverage: 191 countries — 40 safe, 48 caution, 102 unsafe, 1 unknown. Cities per country where relevant. Updated regularly.

Primary sources used to derive every status:
- World Health Organization (WHO) — Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
- WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for water & sanitation
- US CDC Travelers' Health — drinking water by country
- EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184 (for EU member states)
- UK FCDO travel advice (water hygiene)
- Local water utilities and national public-health agencies where available

This site does not collect personal data beyond functional cookies. It is non-commercial and editorially independent.

## Core pages
- [Home (Dutch)](https://water.sofie.be/nl): country search and world map
- [Home (English)](https://water.sofie.be/en)
- [All countries](https://water.sofie.be/en/countries): index of every country
- [Compare countries](https://water.sofie.be/en/compare): sortable table with filters
- [Travel checklist](https://water.sofie.be/en/compare): printable checklist
- [FAQ](https://water.sofie.be/en/faq)
- [Blog](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog)
- [About](https://water.sofie.be/en/about)

## Machine-readable data
- [Sitemap (XML)](https://water.sofie.be/sitemap.xml)
- [Full structured dataset](https://water.sofie.be/llms-full.txt): every country with status and region, suitable for LLM ingestion

## Recent articles
- [5 tips for safe drinking water while traveling (2026 edition)](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/5-tips-for-safe-drinking-water-while-traveling)
- [How portable water filters work — a 2026 full guide](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/how-portable-water-filters-work)
- [The EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184 explained — 2026 status](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/eu-drinking-water-directive-2020-2184-explained)
- [Hard water vs soft water — what's the difference?](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/hard-water-vs-soft-water)
- [Microplastics in tap water: where we stand in 2026](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/microplastics-in-tap-water)
- [Lead in old water pipes: how to spot and avoid it](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/lead-in-old-water-pipes)
- [PFAS ('forever chemicals') in drinking water: what to know](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/pfas-in-drinking-water)
- [Tap water for babies and pregnant women — safe or not?](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/tap-water-for-babies-and-pregnant-women)
- [Tap water vs bottled water: price, taste and environment](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/tap-vs-bottled-water-cost-and-environment)
- [Boil-water notice: what to do and for how long?](https://water.sofie.be/en/blog/what-to-do-during-a-boil-water-notice)

## Disclaimer
Information is indicative and may change. Always verify with local authorities and your travel doctor before drinking tap water in an unfamiliar location.