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For rivers, ca. 44000 water bodies (58% of the total number), or ca. 606 000 km (65% of total river length) are reported to have less than good ecological status or potential. For lakes, almost 6000 lake water bodies (43% of total number) or close to 31 000 km² (39% of total surface area) are reported to be in less than good ecological status or potential. The reason why lakes are better than rivers is probably related to the large proportion of lakes in Sweden and Finland, where the population density is low and there are large natural areas (boreal forests). The rivers are more evenly distributed throughout Europe with a larger proportion of rivers in densely populated and cultivated areas in Central Europe. However, also within countries lakes are generally reported to have better status than rivers (see chapter 4).