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 2023, at 12.9%. Malta had the lowest, at 0.1%. The median was 2.1% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 2.4%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12.9Estonia

Lowest0.1Malta

Median2.127 EU countries

European Union (27)2.4History

Map of EU countries, 2023

Under 0.6
0.6 to 1.4
1.4 to 2.8
2.8 to 3.8
3.8 and over

%, 2023. 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). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2023

%. 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	2023 (%)	Change on 2022
1	Estonia	12.9	+3.8 pts
2	Greece	11.6	+2.6 pts
3	Finland	7.9	+1.4 pts
4	Latvia	7.8	+2.4 pts
5	Romania	5.2	+0.3 pts
6	Lithuania	3.8	+0.9 pts
6	Slovenia	3.8	+0.1 pts
8	France	3.7	+0.5 pts
9	Poland	3.6	+1.3 pts
10	Slovakia	3.2	+0.4 pts
11	Portugal	2.8	-0.1 pts
12	Denmark	2.7	+0.6 pts
12	Ireland	2.7	0 pts
14	Sweden	2.1	+0.3 pts
15	Italy	1.8	0 pts
15	Spain	1.8	+0.6 pts
17	Belgium	1.1	+0.1 pts
17	Bulgaria	1.1	+0.1 pts
19	Croatia Series break	1	-0.3 pts
19	Hungary	1	-0.4 pts
21	Luxembourg	0.8	+0.3 pts
22	Austria	0.6	+0.1 pts
23	Czechia	0.4	+0.2 pts
24	Netherlands	0.3	+0.1 pts
25	Germany Estimated	0.2	-0.1 pts
26	Cyprus	0.1	-0.1 pts
26	Malta	0.1	-0.2 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), 2023) [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), 2023. 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=2023. 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), 2023. 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=2023.

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), 2023 [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=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_unmet_2023,
  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), 2023}},
  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=2023. 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), 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2023.
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  -

Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/rankings/unmet-need-for-medical-care/eu-countries?period=2023" width="760" height="500" title="EU countries by unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list), 2023, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

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

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Estonia, with 12.9% in 2023, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Malta, with 0.1% in 2023.

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.