LAUSR

Environmental quality is a characteristic inherent to all ecosystems, and so knowledge of the indicators that define it, within those of sustainability as a whole, is of vital importance. In particular, environmental analysis of any area should include information on air quality together with data on water, soil, natural resources, and human beings. The distribution of individuals and their impact on the environment varies enormously among countries. This paper presents a statistical analysis of the environmental impact recorded in 27 countries of the European Union, taking into account variables relating to the volume of pollutants emitted to the atmosphere, freshwater abstraction, and the population density in each country. A hierarchical cluster analysis has allowed us to establish groups of countries of similar behavior within the considered variables. Countries with anomalous records (above the EU average) have been detected.