3.6% of the EU population have experienced medical problems

Despite a well-developed health system, in 2024 more than 15 million people in the European Union aged 16 and over will not be able to get the health care they need. The reasons are very predictable: high costs, long waiting lists and remoteness of health facilities. This affects 3.6% of the population - a figure that is hard to ignore given the EU's stated targets for healthcare accessibility.

The situation is particularly alarming in Greece, where the proportion of people with unmet medical needs has reached 21.9%. This means that every fifth person in the country has been left without proper care. Greece is followed by Finland (12.4%) and Estonia (11.2%), which is particularly surprising in the context of Scandinavia, which is traditionally associated with high quality social protection.

The opposite pole is Cyprus, where the figure is only 0.1%, making it virtually an exception in the EU. Almost equally low figures are recorded in Malta (0.5%) and the Czech Republic (0.6%).

However, a clearer picture is given by income level. Among people below the poverty line, 6% report not having received a necessary medical examination or treatment - almost twice as much as among the rest of the population (3.2%). The gap is most pronounced in countries with already high levels of unmet need: in Greece it is 12.7%, in Romania 10.7%, and in Latvia 9.9%.

These figures are based on self-assessment of respondents who required medical care in the previous 12 months, but either did not receive it or did not even try to seek it. Dental care and emergencies were not included.

In doing so, the data shed light not only on technical failures in health systems, but also on the sense of alienation and powerlessness felt by entire populations. This is not just a logistical issue - it signals a social segregation in which health is once again a matter of privilege.