Data / Rankings / Preventable mortality / EU countries

EU countries by preventable mortality

Bulgaria had the highest preventable mortality of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 460 per 100,000 people. Sweden had the lowest, at 117.8 per 100,000 people. The median was 171.3 per 100,000 people and the figure for the European Union (27) was 200.8 per 100,000 people. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest460Bulgaria
Lowest117.8Sweden
Median171.327 EU countries
European Union (27)200.8History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 173.3 per 100,000 peopleBelgium: 164.1 per 100,000 peopleBulgaria: 460 per 100,000 peopleCyprus: 139.5 per 100,000 peopleCzechia: 285.9 per 100,000 peopleGermany: 171.3 per 100,000 peopleDenmark: 148.9 per 100,000 peopleEstonia: 304.7 per 100,000 peopleSpain: 134 per 100,000 peopleFinland: 156.4 per 100,000 peopleFrance: 145.2 per 100,000 peopleGreece: 195.9 per 100,000 peopleCroatia: 312 per 100,000 peopleHungary: 452.4 per 100,000 peopleIreland: 148.4 per 100,000 peopleItaly: 128 per 100,000 peopleLithuania: 394.1 per 100,000 peopleLuxembourg: 132.6 per 100,000 peopleLatvia: 439 per 100,000 peopleMalta: 132.8 per 100,000 peopleNetherlands: 146.5 per 100,000 peoplePoland: 335.9 per 100,000 peoplePortugal: 155.9 per 100,000 peopleRomania: 440.1 per 100,000 peopleSweden: 117.8 per 100,000 peopleSlovenia: 211.9 per 100,000 peopleSlovakia: 379.3 per 100,000 people
  • Under 140
  • 140 to 160
  • 160 to 210
  • 210 to 370
  • 370 and over
per 100,000 people, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

Bulgaria: 460 per 100,000 peopleBulgaria460Hungary: 452.4 per 100,000 peopleHungary452.4Romania: 440.1 per 100,000 peopleRomania440.1Latvia: 439 per 100,000 peopleLatvia439Lithuania: 394.1 per 100,000 peopleLithuania394.1Slovakia: 379.3 per 100,000 peopleSlovakia379.3Poland: 335.9 per 100,000 peoplePoland335.9Croatia: 312 per 100,000 peopleCroatia312Estonia: 304.7 per 100,000 peopleEstonia304.7Czechia: 285.9 per 100,000 peopleCzechia285.9Slovenia: 211.9 per 100,000 peopleSlovenia211.9Greece: 195.9 per 100,000 peopleGreece195.9Austria: 173.3 per 100,000 peopleAustria173.3Germany: 171.3 per 100,000 peopleGermany171.3Belgium: 164.1 per 100,000 peopleBelgium164.1Finland: 156.4 per 100,000 peopleFinland156.4Portugal: 155.9 per 100,000 peoplePortugal155.9Denmark: 148.9 per 100,000 peopleDenmark148.9Ireland: 148.4 per 100,000 peopleIreland148.4Netherlands: 146.5 per 100,000 peopleNetherlands146.5France: 145.2 per 100,000 peopleFrance145.2Cyprus: 139.5 per 100,000 peopleCyprus139.5Spain: 134 per 100,000 peopleSpain134Malta: 132.8 per 100,000 peopleMalta132.8Luxembourg: 132.6 per 100,000 peopleLuxembourg132.6Italy: 128 per 100,000 peopleItaly128Sweden: 117.8 per 100,000 peopleSweden117.8Bulgaria: 460 per 100,000 peopleBulgaria460Hungary: 452.4 per 100,000 peopleHungary452.4Romania: 440.1 per 100,000 peopleRomania440.1Latvia: 439 per 100,000 peopleLatvia439Lithuania: 394.1 per 100,000 peopleLithuania394.1Slovakia: 379.3 per 100,000 peopleSlovakia379.3Poland: 335.9 per 100,000 peoplePoland335.9Croatia: 312 per 100,000 peopleCroatia312Estonia: 304.7 per 100,000 peopleEstonia304.7Czechia: 285.9 per 100,000 peopleCzechia285.9Slovenia: 211.9 per 100,000 peopleSlovenia211.9Greece: 195.9 per 100,000 peopleGreece195.9Austria: 173.3 per 100,000 peopleAustria173.3Germany: 171.3 per 100,000 peopleGermany171.3Belgium: 164.1 per 100,000 peopleBelgium164.1Finland: 156.4 per 100,000 peopleFinland156.4Portugal: 155.9 per 100,000 peoplePortugal155.9Denmark: 148.9 per 100,000 peopleDenmark148.9Ireland: 148.4 per 100,000 peopleIreland148.4Netherlands: 146.5 per 100,000 peopleNetherlands146.5France: 145.2 per 100,000 peopleFrance145.2Cyprus: 139.5 per 100,000 peopleCyprus139.5Spain: 134 per 100,000 peopleSpain134Malta: 132.8 per 100,000 peopleMalta132.8Luxembourg: 132.6 per 100,000 peopleLuxembourg132.6Italy: 128 per 100,000 peopleItaly128Sweden: 117.8 per 100,000 peopleSweden117.8
per 100,000 people. Source: Eurostat, Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2021
per 100,000 people		Change on 2020
1Bulgaria460+143.5 pts
2Hungary452.4+101.9 pts
3Romania440.1+81.9 pts
4Latvia439+121.9 pts
5Lithuania394.1+53.8 pts
6Slovakia379.3+116.8 pts
7Poland335.9+61.2 pts
8Croatia312+47.6 pts
9Estonia304.7+52.9 pts
10Czechia285.9+67.5 pts
11Slovenia211.9+13.3 pts
12Greece195.9+43 pts
13Austria173.3+8.3 pts
14Germany171.3+14.1 pts
15Belgium164.1-13.1 pts
16Finland156.4-1 pts
17Portugal155.9+10.2 pts
18Denmark148.9+3.1 pts
19Ireland148.4+6.6 pts
20Netherlands146.5+5.1 pts
21France145.2+2.6 pts
22Cyprus139.5+27 pts
23Spain134-9.4 pts
24Malta132.8+17.9 pts
25Luxembourg132.6-1.1 pts
26Italy128-2.6 pts
27Sweden117.8-5.5 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Deaths of people under 75 from causes that can mainly be avoided through effective public health and primary prevention (before a disease or injury starts), per 100,000 inhabitants under 75, age-standardised.

Based on the OECD and Eurostat lists of avoidable causes of death (2022 version), which count COVID-19 as preventable, so preventable mortality peaks in 2020 to 2022. A cause on both lists is split half and half. Age-standardised with the 2013 European standard population.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr) (EU countries by preventable mortality, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table

MLA 9

Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr), EU countries by preventable mortality, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 17 Mar. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preventable-mortality-rate/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr). EU countries by preventable mortality, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preventable-mortality-rate/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr), EU countries by preventable mortality, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/preventable-mortality-rate/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_preventable_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth\_cd\_apr): EU countries by preventable mortality, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preventable-mortality-rate/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth\_cd\_apr). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth\_cd\_apr/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr): EU countries by preventable mortality, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/17
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/preventable-mortality-rate/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/preventable-mortality-rate/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_cd_apr/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest preventable mortality?

Bulgaria, with 460 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest preventable mortality?

Sweden, with 117.8 per 100,000 people in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Treatable and preventable mortality of residents, preventable mortality, all causes, standardised rate (hlth_cd_apr). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

EU countries: more rankings