II. WATER RESOURCES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
9. The Danube River Basin is the second-largest river basin in Europe, covering 801,463 square kilometers, with more than 133 million people in 19 countries. Sixteen of the 19 countries are covered in this report (Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are excluded because they are not typically associated with the Danube region countries). Due to its large breadth from west to east, and diverse landscape, the Danube River Basin evidences great differences in water resources and climate. The Danube connects with 27 large and more than 300 small tributaries from its spring in the Black Forest in Germany to the Black Sea in Romania, and as such is the largest water basin in the European Union (EU).
