8 cleanest countries in the world: Is India among them?

Your overall health and well-being in more than one way get impacted by where you actually live. This is because not every place will have the same level of pollution, waste management system, and so many other factors. Thankfully, there are several places that give environmental protection top priority to ensure people staying there breathe in fresh air, have better waste in place, proper sanitation, and more. Yale, Columbia University, and the World Economic Forum created the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) to measure and compare cleanliness among nations in order to analyse this. This index focuses on critical elements including ecosystem vitality, climate change, and environmental health and assesses countries based on 40 characteristics that are categorised into 11 groups.

Curious about which countries rank as the cleanest? Read on to find the top contenders!

In 2024, Luxembourg managed to achieve an Environmental Performance Index (EPI) overall score of 75, with an impressive air pollution score of 94.3, sanitation and drinking water score of 93.2, and waste management score of 63.8.

Germany received an EPI overall score of 74.6, with an air pollution score of 92.6, sanitation and drinking water score of 97.9, and a waste management score of 67.4.

Finland achieved an EPI overall score of 73.7, with an air pollution score of 92.8, sanitation and drinking water score of 95.2, and waste management score of 68.4.

Sweden received an EPI overall score of 70.5, with an air pollution score of 90.6, sanitation and drinking water score of 97, and waste management score of 72.7.

Norway received an overall EPI score of 70 in 2024, with scores of 90.9 for air pollution, 97.6 for drinking water and sanitation, and 58.3 for waste management.

Switzerland's total EPI score in 2024 was 68, with scores of 92.5 for air pollution, 98 for drinking water and sanitation, and 66.8 for waste management.

In 2024, Denmark achieved an EPI overall score of 67.9, with an air pollution score of 90.3, sanitation and drinking water score of 91, and waste management score of 65.5.

In 2024, Belgium received an EPI overall score of 66.7, with air pollution rated at 94.3, sanitation and drinking water at 88.2, and waste management at 65.1.