In 2018, the proportion of women aged 50-69 years who had been screened for breast cancer (using a mammography) within the previous two years differed greatly among Member States.
Based on screening programmes, seven Member States had breast cancer screening rates below 50%. The lowest rates were recorded in Bulgaria (21% of women aged 50-69; 2017 data), Slovakia (30%) and Cyprus (33%).
By contrast, three Member States reported breast cancer screening rates over 75%: Finland (84%), Denmark (83%) and the Netherlands (77%).
Source dataset: hlth_ps_scre
Compared with 2013 (see notes), the rates of breast cancer screening increased between 2013 and 2018 for almost half (9) of the 20 EU Member States for which data are available. The largest increases were recorded in Lithuania (+11.6 percentage points (pp)), Latvia (+7.9 pp) and Malta (+7.1 pp).
In the 11 Member States where screening rates fell, the reductions were usually relatively small, with most notable decreases in Slovenia (-8.3 percentage points) and Germany (-7.2 percentage points; 2013 - 2017).
For more information, see the Statistics Explained article Healthcare activities statistics - preventive services.
This news is published on the occasion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Notes:
- The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
- For 2013 - 2018 comparison:
Denmark: 2014 data used instead of 2013 data
Bulgaria: 2015 data used instead of 2013 data
Belgium, Bulgaria and Germany: 2017 data used instead of 2018 data
Greece, Spain, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden: data not available
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