EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list)

Estonia had the highest unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list) of 27 EU countries in 2017, at 11.8%. Spain had the lowest, at 0.1%. The median was 1.6% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 1.6%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest11.8Estonia

Lowest0.1Spain

Median1.627 EU countries

European Union (27)1.6History

All EU countries, 2017

%. Source: Eurostat, Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2017 (%)	Change on 2016
1	Estonia	11.8	-3.5 pts
2	Greece	10	-3.1 pts
3	Latvia	6.2	-2 pts
4	Romania	4.7	-1.8 pts
5	Finland	3.6	-0.5 pts
6	Slovenia	3.5	+3.1 pts
7	Poland Series break	3.3	-3.3 pts
8	Ireland	2.8	+0.3 pts
9	Slovakia	2.4	+0.1 pts
10	Portugal	2.3	-0.1 pts
11	Belgium	2.2	-0.3 pts
12	Bulgaria	2.1	-0.7 pts
13	Italy	1.8	-3.7 pts
14	Croatia	1.6	-0.1 pts
15	Cyprus	1.5	+0.9 pts
15	Lithuania	1.5	-1.6 pts
17	Sweden	1.4	-0.2 pts
18	Denmark	1	-0.3 pts
18	France	1	-0.3 pts
18	Hungary	1	-0.3 pts
21	Czechia	0.5	-0.2 pts
22	Germany	0.3	0 pts
22	Luxembourg	0.3	-0.1 pts
24	Austria	0.2	0 pts
24	Malta	0.2	-0.8 pts
26	Netherlands	0.1	-0.1 pts
26	Spain	0.1	-0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Share of people aged 16 and over who say that in the previous 12 months they needed a medical examination or treatment and did not get it because it was too expensive, too far to travel or the waiting list was too long (EU statistics on income and living conditions, EU-SILC).

Self-reported, and measured over everyone aged 16 and over, not only those who needed care. Dental care is asked separately and is not included. The reference year is the survey year.

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. Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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). Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08) (EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table

MLA 9

Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08), EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2017. Eurostat, European Commission, 17 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08). EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2017.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08), EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_unmet_2017,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth\_silc\_08): EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2017. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth\_silc\_08). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth\_silc\_08/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08): EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_silc_08/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list) using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"unmet_medical_need_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unmet_medical_need_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list)?

Estonia, with 11.8% in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list)?

Spain, with 0.1% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination, too expensive, too far to travel or waiting list, aged 16 and over (hlth_silc_08). Retrieved 2026-10-12.