Health statistics at regional level

Data extracted in March and April 2026

Planned article update: September 2027

This article forms part of the Eurostat regional yearbook – 2026, an annual flagship publication. It provides a detailed picture relating to a broad range of statistical topics across the regions of the EU, EFTA and candidate countries. A short reading guide is provided in the introductory chapter, including an explanation of how to interpret the maps.

Highlights

In 2023, hospital discharges of resident patients with ischaemic heart diseases accounted for 1.6% of all discharges in the EU, with the highest shares observed in the south-western Hungarian region of Dél-Dunántúl (5.1%) and the French island region of Corse (4.5%).

Circulatory diseases caused nearly 1 in 3 deaths across the EU in 2023: the highest regional shares – approximately two thirds of all deaths – were recorded in the Bulgarian regions of Yuzhen tsentralen and Yugoiztochen.

Health is an important priority for most Europeans who expect to receive efficient healthcare services – for example, if they contract a disease or are in an accident – alongside timely and reliable public health information. The overall health of the EU population is also closely linked to that of the environment through – among other influences – the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

A core commitment within the European Pillar of Social Rights is to ensure that everyone in the EU should have access to affordable, preventive and curative healthcare of good quality. As part of its work in this area, the European Commission has a range of specific actions, including:

support for the modernisation and digitalisation of health systems
a pharmaceuticals strategy for Europe
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
the EU’s cardiovascular health initiative (Safe Hearts Plan)
as well as a broad range of complementary initiatives, such as promoting digital health (eHealth), reducing antimicrobial resistance and improving vaccination coverage.

This year’s edition of the Eurostat regional yearbook highlights diseases of the circulatory system. In December 2025, the European Commission released a Communication on an EU cardiovascular health plan: the Safe Hearts Plan (COM(2025) 1024 final). The plan is a strategic response to the EU’s leading health challenge. Its aim is to deliver tangible benefits through 3 key pillars:

prevention
early detection and screening
treatment and care (including rehabilitation).

Despite advances in prevention and treatment, cardiovascular disease remains the EU’s most pressing public health challenge. In 2023, these diseases resulted in around 1.6 million deaths, while also contributing to long-term disability, reduced independence and a substantial decline in quality of life, as well as having broader impacts on mental well-being and increased strain on families and care givers.

The burden is unevenly distributed across and within EU countries, shaped by factors such as income, education, gender and disability. People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, often alongside conditions such as diabetes or obesity, leading to poorer health outcomes and reinforcing existing health disparities.

In 2023, patients with ischaemic heart diseases accounted for 2.3% of all resident hospital discharges within the EU. There were 5 NUTS level 2 regions with shares of at least 4.0% (see the infographic above):

the southern Hungarian regions of Dél-Dunántúl (5.1%) and Dél-Alföld (4.2%)
the French island region of Corse (4.5%)
the eastern Polish region of Lubelskie (4.3%)
the southern Italian regions of Molise (4.2%) and Puglia (4.1%)
the north-eastern German region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (4.1%)

Healthcare resources

Hospital beds and medical doctors

More about the data: the number of hospital beds and medical doctors

The number of hospital beds and the number of medical doctors serve as indicators to measure the capacity of healthcare systems.

The number of hospital beds includes beds which are regularly maintained and staffed and immediately available for the care of patients admitted to hospitals; these statistics cover beds in general hospitals and in speciality hospitals.
The number of medical doctors includes generalists, such as general practitioners (GPs), as well as medical and surgical specialists. These doctors provide services to patients as consumers of health care, including giving advice, conducting medical examinations and making diagnoses, applying preventive medical methods, prescribing medication and treating diagnosed illnesses, giving specialised medical or surgical treatment.

Eurostat gives preference to the concept of ‘practising’ healthcare staff.

Data for Greece and Portugal relate to medical doctors ‘licensed to practice’.
Data for Slovakia, North Macedonia and Türkiye relate to ‘professionally active’ medical doctors.
Data for Norway include physicians not providing services directly to patients.
Data for Serbia relate to medical doctors in institutions under the Ministry of Health (therefore, excluding the private health sector).

Within this section on healthcare resources, data are generally presented for NUTS level 2 regions. Only national data are available for Germany (for hospital beds and medical doctors), Ireland (for medical doctors) and the Netherlands (for hospital beds).

Availability of hospital beds was generally higher in eastern EU countries: the Polish region of Zachodniopomorskie recorded the lowest ratio in 2023, with 1 hospital bed for every 79 inhabitants

In 2023, there were 2.29 million hospital beds across the EU. This equated to 511 hospital beds per 100 000 inhabitants, or, expressed differently, an average of 1 hospital bed for every 196 people. These EU averages mask considerable disparities across NUTS level 2 regions.

The lowest bed-to-population ratios (indicating the highest availability of beds) were recorded in the Polish region of Zachodniopomorskie (1 hospital bed for every 79 inhabitants), the Romanian capital region of Bucureşti-Ilfov (95) and the Hungarian capital region of Budapest (103).
The highest ratios were observed in the French outermost region of Mayotte (1 hospital bed for every 679 inhabitants), the Portuguese region of Oeste e Vale do Tejo (628) and the Swedish region of Västsverige (596).

Differences in healthcare systems, funding models and population density can influence the regional distribution of hospital beds. That said, major hospitals, specialised medical centres and teaching hospitals are generally located in capital regions, often contributing to higher capacity. However, such specialised services concentrated in capital regions may serve patients from other regions, such that demand exceeds what would be expected based solely on their resident populations. This was particularly evident in Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Croatia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia, as their capital regions recorded the lowest ratio of inhabitants per hospital bed in 2023.

There were 62 NUTS level 2 regions with fewer than 175.0 inhabitants per hospital bed in 2023. In addition to the capital regions mentioned above, this group included every region of Bulgaria and all but 1 of the regions in Czechia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, as well as a majority of the regions in Austria and Poland; it also included Germany (national data).

At the other end of the distribution, there were 64 NUTS level 2 regions with at least 300.0 inhabitants per hospital bed in 2023. This was the case for every region of Denmark and Sweden, as well as for a majority of regions in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Finland; it also applied in Cyprus as well as Ireland and the Netherlands (both national data). A range of different factors may contribute to these higher ratios, although their relevance differs by region, including:

national healthcare models that place greater emphasis on primary and preventative care, outpatient services, shorter hospital stays and care provided at home or in nursing facilities
differences in healthcare infrastructure and capacity planning
low population density, such that the population numbers cannot sustain some specialised facilities and services.

The supply of medical doctors was relatively high in capital regions, as well as across Germany, Austria and several regions in southern Europe

In 2023, there were 1.98 million medical doctors in the EU, which equated to 442 doctors for every 100 000 inhabitants, or, expressed differently, an average of 226 inhabitants for every medical doctor.

As for hospital beds, capital regions often have a concentration of medical doctors. This may reflect capital regions functioning as referral hubs, attracting patients from other regions, while professional training, research institutions and administrative headquarters further reinforce physician numbers in these regions. The lowest ratios of inhabitants per medical doctor (in other words, the highest availability of medical doctors) were recorded in the Greek capital region of Attiki (119 inhabitants for every medical doctor), the Portuguese capital region of Grande Lisboa (123) and the Romanian capital region of Bucureşti-Ilfov (124); note that Greek and Portuguese values are likely to be inflated since the data concern medical doctors licensed to practice.

High ratios of inhabitants to medical doctors may result from a range of factors, including the organisation of healthcare resources, limited funding and/or a lack of trained staff (recruitment and retention issues, excessive workload/burnout). These regions tend to be predominantly rural and are often quite remote. The highest ratios were observed in the French outermost region of Mayotte (1 203 inhabitants for every medical doctor), the Dutch regions of Flevoland (798) and Zeeland (593) – not shown in Map 1 due to partial data availability – the Romanian region of Sud-Muntenia (589) and the Polish region of Mazowiecki regionalny (465).

Map 1 shows information for both indicators (hospital beds and medical doctors), reflecting variations in how healthcare systems are organised and how services are delivered. A relatively low ratio of inhabitants per medical doctor alongside a higher ratio of inhabitants per hospital bed may indicate a stronger emphasis on outpatient and primary care, or a greater concentration of medical doctors within non-hospital settings (such as clinics or specialist practices). Conversely, a relatively low ratio of inhabitants per hospital bed combined with a relatively high ratio of inhabitants per medical doctor may point to more hospital-centred care models, differences in staffing structures, or variations in how services are provided across inpatient and outpatient settings.

Map 1: Hospital beds and medical doctors
Source: Eurostat (hlth_rs_bdsrg2), (hlth_rs_bds1), (hlth_rs_physreg), (hlth_rs_phys) and (demo_gind)

Mortality and causes of death

Mortality

Since 2002 (the first year for which data are available), life expectancy at birth in the EU has followed a generally upward trend. However, it fell in both 2020 and 2021 reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It subsequently recovered in 2022 and continued to rise in 2023 and 2024, albeit more slowly in the latter year. By 2024, EU life expectancy stood at 81.5 years, some 0.2 years above its pre-pandemic level.

There are a number of drivers that can impact inter-regional differences in life expectancy, including:

proximity to healthcare services – for example, capital regions tend to have a greater number and variety of healthcare facilities compared with rural regions
the prosperity of a region – for example, life expectancy is generally above average in regions characterised by a higher standard of living and below average in regions characterised by poverty and social deprivation
lifestyle and cultural differences – for example, the type of work that predominates in a region, the typical diet of a region, or the incidence of smoking and alcohol consumption
climatic conditions – for example, people living in warm and relatively dry climates tend to live longer.

Map 2 presents life expectancy at birth for females and for males. Both maps use the same class boundaries in their legends to facilitate comparison. In 2024, female life expectancy at birth in the EU was 84.1 years. This equated to a gap of 5.2 years between the sexes, as male life expectancy at birth was 78.9 years.

Comunidad de Madrid recorded the highest female life expectancy at birth, at 87.9 years in 2024

In 2024, the highest levels of female life expectancy at birth were recorded across much of Spain, Italy and France. Relatively high values – at least 85.5 years – were also observed for multiple regions in Greece, Austria, Portugal and Sweden, as well as for Cyprus, Luxembourg and one region in each of Belgium and Slovenia.

The Spanish capital region of Comunidad de Madrid recorded the highest female life expectancy at birth, peaking at 87.9 years in 2024. The next highest values were (also) concentrated in central and northern Spain: Castilla y León (87.4 years), Comunidad Foral de Navarra and País Vasco (both 87.3 years). This group was followed by the northern Italian region of Provincia Autonoma di Trento (87.2 years), the French capital region of Ile-de-France and the northern Spanish region of Galicia (both 87.0 years).

Across the 244 EU regions for which data are available, the French outermost region of Mayotte recorded the lowest female life expectancy at birth (76.3 years) in 2024. There were 3 other regions – Severozapaden and Severen tsentralen in northern Bulgaria and Észak-Magyarország in northern Hungary – which also recorded female life expectancy at birth below 79.0 years.

Stockholm recorded the highest male life expectancy at birth, at 83.5 years in 2024

In 2024, the highest levels of male life expectancy at birth were concentrated in Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. Every region in each of these countries recorded a level of male life expectancy above the EU average of 78.9 years. The same was true in Austria, apart from the capital region of Wien, and in Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta (2023 data).

The Swedish capital region of Stockholm recorded the highest male life expectancy at birth (83.5 years) in 2024, followed by the Spanish capital region of Comunidad de Madrid (83.1 years) and the northern Italian regions of Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen (82.9 years) and Provincia Autonoma di Trento (82.8 years).

There were 48 NUTS level 2 regions across the EU where male life expectancy at birth was below 76.0 years in 2024 (as indicated by the lightest shade in Map 2). These regions were predominantly located in eastern Europe, as well as the Baltic countries:

every region of Bulgaria and Romania
all but 1 of the regions in Hungary and Slovakia (the exceptions being the capital regions of Budapest and Bratislavský kraj)
all but 2 of the regions in Poland (the exceptions being the capital region of Warszawski stołeczny and the southern region of Małopolskie)
every region in the Baltic countries.

The Bulgarian region of Severozapaden recorded the lowest male life expectancy at birth (70.1 years) in 2024. There were 6 other regions with male life expectancy below 72.0 years, including:

Severen tsentralen and Severoiztochen in Bulgaria
Latvia
Észak-Magyarország in Hungary
Nord-Est and Sud-Est in Romania.

Map 2: Life expectancy at birth
(years, by NUTS 2 regions, 2024)
Source: Eurostat (demo_r_mlifexp) and (demo_mlexpec)

Female life expectancy was higher than male life expectancy across every region of the EU

In 2024, all 244 NUTS level 2 regions had higher female than male life expectancy at birth. The Baltic countries, along with several regions in Poland and Romania, reported some of the largest gender gaps. In Latvia, female life expectancy at birth (81.2 years) exceeded that of males (71.4 years) by 9.8 years.

At the other end of the range, the narrowest gender gaps were concentrated across the Netherlands and Sweden. The Dutch region of Noord-Brabant recorded the smallest difference between the sexes, as female life expectancy at birth (83.1 years) exceeded that of males (80.8 years) by 2.3 years in 2024. Alongside the many Dutch and Swedish regions with narrow gaps, gaps of no more than 3.5 years were also observed in:

Prov. Antwerpen in Belgium
the Danish capital region of Hovedstaden
Southern region in Ireland
Ciudad de Ceuta in Spain
Mayotte in France
the neighbouring Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Toscana.

Causes of death

A wide range of factors determine regional mortality patterns, with causes of death linked, among other issues, to age structures, sex distributions, access to and the quality of health care, living/working conditions, types of occupation, lifestyle choices and the surrounding environment. Since a region’s (or a country’s) population structure can strongly influence crude death rates, statisticians typically compare statistics on the causes of death using standardised death rates.

More about the data: standardised death rates

This section about causes of death presents information based on standardised death rates. Statisticians compute these rates by taking a weighted average of age-specific mortality rates, using the age distribution of a standard reference population as the weighting factor.

Since age and sex significantly influence most causes of death, standardised death rates can be used to facilitate comparisons between different populations or between different countries/regions. By adjusting for differences in age structure – particularly the higher mortality risk among older people – these rates allow more accurate comparisons across regions and over time. They support epidemiological analyses by enabling direct comparisons between causes of death, making it possible to assess whether mortality from one cause is higher or lower than from another (independent of the age differences observed between different subpopulations or different regions).

Statistics on causes of death are based on the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10).

In 2023, there were 4.9 million deaths in the EU

The COVID-19 crisis led to an increase in the total number of deaths across the EU: this figure increased by more than 0.5 million in 2020 and by a further 112 000 in 2021 to reach a peak of 5.3 million. In 2022, the total number of deaths in the EU fell 139 000 to 5.2 million. The downward pattern continued in 2023, as the number of deaths fell by a further 303 000 to 4.9 million (still 203 000 higher than its pre-pandemic level).

Diseases of the circulatory system accounted for almost 1 in 3 deaths across the EU in 2023

In 2023, based on standardised death rates:

diseases of the circulatory system – including ischemic heart disease, hypertensive diseases and cerebrovascular diseases – accounted for 32.5% of all deaths across the EU (there is a special focus on these diseases at the end of this chapter)
cancer (malignant neoplasms) was the second most common cause of death – accounting for 24.2% of all deaths
diseases of the respiratory system – including conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and asthma – accounted for 7.8% of all deaths
other causes of death accounted for the remaining 35.5% of deaths.

Map 3 details the share of all deaths accounted for by 4 broad categories: diseases of the circulatory system, cancer, diseases of the respiratory system and all other causes of death. Diseases of the circulatory system were the main cause of death in 65 out of 92 NUTS level 1 regions in 2023, while cancer was the main cause of death in the remaining 27 regions.

In 2023, the vast majority of regions in Baltic and eastern EU countries recorded a higher share of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system compared with other regions; this was also the case in most regions of Germany and Austria. Cancer accounted for a relatively high share of deaths in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, as well as much of Spain. Compared with the EU average, diseases of the respiratory system represented a higher proportion of all deaths in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Portugal, in most regions of Greece and Spain, and in Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta.

Based on standardised death rates, important differences can be observed in the distribution of mortality patterns by cause of death.

The share of all deaths (computed from standardised death rates) for diseases of the circulatory system was particularly high in the Bulgarian regions of Yugozapadna i Yuzhna tsentralna Bulgaria (63.8% of all deaths) and Severna i Yugoiztochna Bulgaria (63.3%); this was almost twice as high as the average for the EU (32.5% of all deaths). The Romanian regions of Macroregiunea Patru, Macroregiunea Trei and Macroregiunea Doi also reported relatively high shares of all deaths from diseases of the circulatory system (75-85% higher than the EU average). These differences may reflect a combination of regional demographic and health-related factors, such as a higher prevalence of risk factors including hypertension, obesity and smoking, as well as less favourable long-term prevention and health outcomes. By contrast, in the French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Ile-de-France, the share of deaths from circulatory diseases was less than 60.0% of the EU average, while relatively low death rates for circulatory diseases were more generally observed across all French regions, as well as in Denmark.
Cancer mortality was more evenly distributed across the EU, accounting for 14.8% to 31.0% of all regional deaths (based on standardised death rates); as a result, clusters of elevated cancer mortality were less common. Slovenia recorded the highest share of deaths from cancer. The relatively even distribution of cancer deaths across the EU may reflect a broad set of risk factors which are common across populations, including ageing, long-term exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens, and lifestyle-related behaviours such as smoking and alcohol consumption, leading to fewer pronounced regional concentrations compared with other causes of death.
In the Portuguese island region of Região Autónoma da Madeira, the share of deaths from respiratory diseases was almost twice as high as the EU average, while relatively high death rates were also observed in Malta and the Spanish capital region of Comunidad de Madrid. These elevated values may reflect a combination of demographic, environmental and behavioural factors, including population ageing, exposure to air pollution (from road traffic, ozone or Saharan dust events) and high numbers of smokers.

A special focus on diseases of the circulatory system is provided at the end of this chapter.

Map 3: Main causes of death
Source: Eurostat (hlth_cd_asdr2)

Potential years of life lost

In 2023, 1.56 million EU residents died before the age of 75, equivalent to 32.1% of all deaths. As a result, there were 4 700 potential years of life lost per 100 000 residents of this age. The causes of death with the highest rates of potential years of life lost were cancer (1 393 years per 100 000 residents), diseases of the circulatory system (848 years per 100 000 residents) and external causes of death (730 years per 100 000 residents). Together, these 3 causes accounted for 63.2% of all potential years of life lost among people under the age of 75.

Map 4 shows regional variations in potential years of life lost among residents under the age of 75. In 2023, The highest values for NUTS level 2 regions were mainly concentrated in eastern and Baltic EU countries, while the lowest values were often in northern Italy. There was a skewed regional distribution, insofar as 99 regions recorded values that were above the EU average, while there were 145 regions below it.

At the top end of the range, 22 regions reported at least 7 500 potential years of life lost per 100 000 inhabitants in 2023, including:

all 6 regions in Bulgaria, peaking at 10 229 years in Severozapaden
5 regions in Poland
4 regions in Romania, with a peak of 9 255 years in Nord-Est (the third highest value in the EU)
3 regions in Hungary
2 outermost regions in France
1 region in Lithuania
Latvia, with 9 461 years (the second highest value in the EU).

Very high values were also observed in southern Türkiye, which may reflect the severe impact of the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. These earthquakes resulted in widespread mortality among younger populations in southern Türkiye and neighbouring Syria, primarily due to traumatic injuries and, to a lesser extent, secondary causes of death such as exposure and hypothermia. Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye (39 311 potential years of life lost per 100 000 inhabitants) and Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Kilis (21 497 years per 100 000 inhabitants) were particularly affected.

There were 15 regions across the EU with fewer than 3 000 potential years of life lost per 100 000 inhabitants in 2023. Their low values reflect, among other factors, high overall life expectancy, coupled with relatively low premature mortality among younger age groups and lower levels of poverty and deprivation. This group of 15 regions included:

9 regions from northern and central Italy
2 regions from Spain, including the capital region of Comunidad de Madrid
2 regions from Sweden, including the capital region of Stockholm
the Finnish archipelago of Åland
Luxembourg.

Map 4: Potential years of life lost
Source: Eurostat (hlth_cd_ypyll)

Focus on diseases of the circulatory system

Diseases of the circulatory system are the leading cause of death in the EU. The high level of deaths from circulatory diseases may be linked to ageing populations, lifestyle-related risks such as poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as persistent inequalities in access to preventive care and treatment. These diseases place a considerable burden on individuals, contributing to long-term disability and reduced quality of life. They also lead to substantial economic costs through higher healthcare expenditure, reduced labour market participation and productivity losses.

The EU has strengthened its policy focus on cardiovascular health as part of its broader approach to non-communicable diseases and prevention. Recent initiatives under the European Health Union framework include the Safe Hearts Plan, unveiled in December 2025. It addresses key challenges related to cardiovascular diseases by supporting health promotion and prevention, early detection and screening, as well as treatment, care and rehabilitation.

More about the data: diseases of the circulatory system

The statistics presented below are primarily based on information pertaining to Chapter IX of the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), which refers to diseases of the circulatory system (ICD-10 I00-I99). Data on hospital discharges are disseminated according to the international shortlist for hospital morbidity tabulation (ISHMT). Diseases of the circulatory system include:

hypertensive diseases
ischaemic heart diseases, including
- angina pectoris
- acute myocardial infarction
- other ischaemic heart disease
pulmonary heart disease and diseases of pulmonary circulation
other forms of heart disease
cerebrovascular diseases
diseases of arteries, arterioles and capillaries
diseases of veins, lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes, not elsewhere classified
other and unspecified disorders of the circulatory system, including acute rheumatic fever and chronic rheumatic heart diseases.

Circulatory diseases accounted for 14.1% of resident in-patient discharges in 2023

In 2023, there were 9.5 million in-patient hospital discharges for diseases of the circulatory system, accounting for 14.1% of all resident in-patient discharges in the EU. Map 5 illustrates differences in hospital in-patient discharges across NUTS level 2 regions, reflecting a range of underlying factors, such as population health and risk profiles, the organisation of healthcare systems, differences in admission and discharge practices, the age structure of regional populations, disease prevalence and management, and access to outpatient and preventive care.

Across the 244 regions for which data are available in 2023, there were 100 regions where the rate of resident in-patient discharges for diseases of the circulatory system was above the EU average (2 119 discharges per 100 000 inhabitants), compared with 144 below it. The overall distribution of values around the EU average was positively skewed, with a relatively long tail of higher values in a small number of regions. At the extremes of the distribution:

20 regions recorded rates of at least 3 500 discharges per 100 000 inhabitants (as shown by the darkest shade)
16 regions reported particularly low values, fewer than 1 000 discharges per 100 000 inhabitants (as shown by the lightest shade).

In 2023, some of the highest hospital in-patient discharge rates for diseases of the circulatory system were concentrated in regions across Bulgaria, Germany and Lithuania. The north-western Bulgarian region of Severozapaden recorded the highest rate, with 5 309 resident in-patient discharges per 100 000 inhabitants. The second and third highest rates were also recorded in Bulgaria – Severen tsentralen (4 956 per 100 000 inhabitants) and Yuzhen tsentralen (4 733 per 100 000 inhabitants) – followed by the eastern German region of Sachsen-Anhalt (4 524 per 100 000 inhabitants).

At the other end of the distribution, the lowest hospital in-patient discharge rates for diseases of the circulatory system were observed across regions in Denmark, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal. In 2023, the Portuguese island region of Região Autónoma da Madeira had the lowest rate, with 285 resident in-patient discharges per 100 000 inhabitants. There were 2 other regions with fewer than 500 discharges: the French outermost region of Mayotte (390 per 100 000 inhabitants) and Oeste e Vale do Tejo in Portugal (470 per 100 000 inhabitants).

As such, hospital in-patient discharge rates for diseases of the circulatory system varied widely across EU regions. In 2023, the rate in Severozapaden was 18.6 times as high as that recorded in Região Autónoma da Madeira. This wide variation is likely to reflect a combination of factors, including differences in the organisation of healthcare systems and the delivery of care, particularly the balance between inpatient, outpatient and primary care services. Differences in lifestyle and the effectiveness of prevention strategies may also influence hospitalisation rates. Data on hospital discharges are best interpreted in conjunction with indicators of mortality and, more broadly, measures such as potential years of life lost.

An alternative way of assessing regional variations is to consider the share of resident in-patient discharges for diseases of the circulatory system in the total number of all discharges. Using this measure, the highest proportion was recorded in Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas in Lithuania (20.6%), while the only other region to record a share of more than 20.0% was Molise in Italy. By contrast, diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 4.6% and 5.8% of all discharges among resident in-patients in the French outermost regions of Mayotte and Guyane, with the next lowest share observed in Região Autónoma da Madeira (8.0%). As such, the ratio between the lowest and highest shares was 1 : 4.4.

Map 5: Hospital discharges for diseases of the circulatory system
Source: Eurostat (hlth_rinpat2_reg), (hlth_rinpat1) and (demo_gind)}

In 2023, almost a third of all deaths in the EU were due to diseases of the circulatory system

In 2023, there were 1.6 million deaths across the EU attributed to diseases of the circulatory system; this was equivalent to 32.5% of all deaths. The regional distribution was somewhat skewed, with 108 out of 244 NUTS level 2 regions for which data are available (44.3% of all regions) reporting rates at or above the EU average, while there were 136 regions below.

At the top end of the distribution, there were 25 regions where diseases of the circulatory system accounted for at least half of all deaths in 2023 (as shown by the darkest shade in Map 6). These regions were exclusively located in eastern and Baltic EU countries:

all regions in Bulgaria (6 regions) and Romania (8 regions)
6 out of 8 regions in Hungary
both regions in Lithuania
2 out of 4 regions in Slovakia
Latvia.

In 2023, the Bulgarian regions of Yuzhen tsentralen and Yugoiztochen recorded the highest shares of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system, at 67.3% and 66.4%, respectively. All 6 regions in Bulgaria reported shares of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system of at least 61.0%, with Sud-Vest Oltenia in Romania (63.8%) the only other region across the EU to reach such a level. In a similar manner, every region of Romania recorded a share of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system of at least 53.0%, with the Lithuanian region of Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas (53.7%) the only other region to reach this threshold.

The share of deaths attributed to diseases of the circulatory system was particularly low across a broad belt of regions extending from Denmark through the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and into Spain and Portugal; it was also relatively low in Cyprus. In 2023, there were 5 NUTS level 2 regions where fewer than 20.0% of all deaths were attributed to diseases of the circulatory system (as shown by the lightest shade in Map 6). All 5 were located in France, with the lowest share recorded in the outermost region of Martinique (18.2%). The remaining regions with shares of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system below 20.0% were Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Guadeloupe, the capital region of Ile-de-France and Franche-Comté. Excluding the atypical region of Mayotte (30.5%), all of the remaining regions of France recorded shares of no more than 22.4%.

Outside France, similarly low values – no more than 22.4% – were observed in:

all 5 Danish regions, with the lowest value recorded in the capital region of Hovedstaden (20.5%)
3 regions in the Netherlands – Zuid-Holland, Utrecht and Groningen.

Map 6: Deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system
Source: Eurostat (hlth_cd_asdr2)

In 2023, male death rates for diseases of the circulatory system were consistently higher than female rates across every region in the EU

In 2023, diseases of the circulatory system claimed the lives of 742 900 men across the EU, compared with 846 400 women. Based on standardised death rates, this corresponded to 377.9 deaths per 100 000 male inhabitants (31.4% of all male deaths), compared with 261.8 deaths per 100 000 female inhabitants (33.5% of all female deaths).

The highest regional death rates from diseases of the circulatory system in 2023 were recorded in Bulgaria.

Among males, all Bulgarian regions reported rates above 1 000 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants. Észak-Magyarország in Hungary and Sud-Est in Romania were the only other NUTS level 2 regions to exceed this level.
A similar pattern was observed among females, with the 5 highest regional rates in Bulgaria (the only exception being the capital region of Yugozapaden). The 5 regions with the next highest female rates were 4 regions from Romania – including the capital region of Bucureşti-Ilfov, which had the highest female rate outside Bulgaria, at 700.7 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants – and Észak-Magyarország in Hungary.

Figure 2 illustrates gender gaps in mortality rates for circulatory diseases, highlighting NUTS level 2 regions with the widest and narrowest differences (calculated as the male death rate minus the female death rate). In 2023, the rates for males exceeded those for females across every region of the EU.

The widest gender gaps were generally observed in regions characterised by relatively high mortality rates for both sexes. All 6 regions of Bulgaria featured among the 10 EU regions with the widest gaps. The widest of all was observed in Severozapaden, where the male death rate for diseases of the circulatory system stood at 1 277.5 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, compared with 828.5 for females. The remaining regions in this group at the upper end of the distribution included Latvia, Dél-Alföld and Észak-Magyarország (both in Hungary) and Sud-Est (Romania).
At the other end of the spectrum, the narrowest gender gap was recorded in the Greek region of Ionia Nisia, where male and female standardised death rates for diseases of the circulatory system were relatively similar (286.3 and 256.2 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively). Other regions with relatively narrow gender gaps included 5 regions from France (4 outermost regions and Corse), Ciudad de Melilla in Spain, Cyprus, Norte in Portugal and Prov. Antwerpen in Belgium.

The Polish regions of Mazowiecki regionalny and Łódzkie recorded the largest declines in death rates from diseases of the circulatory system

Figure 3 illustrates changes in standardised death rates for diseases of the circulatory system over the latest decade for which data are available. Across the EU, the rate declined from 407.6 to 313.0 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants between 2013 and 2023. The largest absolute decreases were recorded in the Polish regions of Mazowiecki regionalny (which surrounds the capital) and Łódzkie, with rates falling from 703.6 to 412.1 and from 660.4 to 390.1 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, respectively. The 20 EU regions with the largest absolute declines in death rates were all located in eastern and Baltic countries, including 6 regions from Poland, 5 regions from each of Czechia and Romania, both regions in Lithuania, a single region from Bulgaria, and Estonia.

Mazowiecki regionalny and Łódzkie also recorded the largest relative reductions in death rates from diseases of the circulatory system, with falls of 41.4% and 40.9%, respectively, between 2013 and 2023. The next largest relative fall (down 38.8%) was observed in the Greek region of Voreio Aigaio, which had a comparatively low initial death rate. By contrast, the death rate increased in 2 EU regions over the period under consideration. In the French outermost region of Mayotte, it rose from 387.3 to 441.3 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants (up 13.9%), while in the Spanish island region of Canarias it increased from 207.2 to 232.8 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants (up 12.4%).

Source data for figures and maps

Regional health statistics

Data sources

Causes of death

Data on causes of death provide information on mortality patterns and form an important element of public health information. This dataset refers to the underlying cause of death, which – according to the World Health Organization (WHO) – is ‘the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury’.

Since reference year 2011, data for causes of death have been provided to Eurostat based on Commission Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work and the implementing Regulation (EU) No 328/2011 on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work, as regards statistics on causes of death. The Causes of death statistics manual – 2025 edition provides further information on the variables and methodology followed in processing the data.

The medical certification of death is an obligation in all EU countries. Causes of death statistics are based on information derived from medical certificates. The dataset is built upon standards laid out in the WHO’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). This classification provides codes, rules and guidelines for mortality coding, with statistics on the causes of death classified according to a European shortlist that is based on the 10th revision of the ICD (ICD-10).

Statistics on causes of death may be broken down by sex, 5-year age group, residency and country of death. Annual data are provided in absolute numbers, as crude death rates and as standardised death rates; Eurostat also receives monthly data from most EU countries. The information presented in this chapter refers to regional death rates for NUTS level 2 regions of residence for the latest available reference year (2023).

Healthcare resources

Until reference year 2020, non-expenditure data on healthcare resources, such as data on the number of hospital beds or the number of medical doctors, were submitted to Eurostat on the basis of a gentlemen’s agreement; in other words, there was no EU legislation for the collection of regional data on these subjects.

As of reference year 2021, countries have to submit data to Eurostat on the basis of Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2294 as regards statistics on healthcare facilities, healthcare human resources and healthcare utilisation, and based on a gentlemen’s agreement established in the framework of the Eurostat Working Group on Public Health Statistics.

The information presented within this chapter is mainly based on national administrative sources and therefore reflects country-specific ways of organising health care and may not be completely comparable; a few countries compile their statistics from surveys. Annual data for healthcare resources are provided in absolute numbers and as rates per 100 000 inhabitants.

For country specific notes, please refer to the annexes of the European metadata report on healthcare resources. The annexes can be accessed via a button in the top-right corner of the page.

The Healthcare non-expenditure statistics manual provides an overview of the reporting criteria and data processing used for both mandatory variables and variables provided on a voluntary basis.

Life expectancy

Eurostat collects a wide range of regional demographic statistics, including data on population numbers and various demographic events which influence the population’s size, structure and specific characteristics. These indicators help describe how populations evolve over time across different territorial levels.

Demographic statistics are compiled for EU, EFTA and candidate countries. Data on life expectancy at birth provide a summary measure of mortality conditions and overall population health. Life expectancy at birth is disaggregated by sex and is available for NUTS level 2 regions.

Regional demography statistics are collected in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 on European demographic statistics and the implementing provisions set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 205/2014.

Eurostat has been collecting harmonised regional demographic data under this legal framework since the reference year 2013. Prior to this, regional demographic statistics were primarily provided by national statistical institutes on a voluntary basis, resulting in more limited comparability across countries and regions.

Indicator definitions

Available beds in hospitals

Hospital bed numbers provide information on healthcare capacities, in this case the maximum number of patients who can be admitted to hospitals. The total number of hospital beds includes all hospital beds which are regularly maintained and staffed and immediately available for the care of admitted patients. This count is equal to the sum of the following categories i) curative (acute) care beds, ii) rehabilitative care beds, iii) long-term care beds and iv) other hospital beds.

Causes of death

The underlying cause of death is defined as the disease or injury which started the train (sequence) of morbid (disease-related) events which led directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury. Although international definitions are harmonised, the resulting statistics on causes of death may not be fully comparable, as classifications can vary when the cause of death is multiple or difficult to evaluate, and because of different notification procedures.

Within this publication, data are presented for the main cause of death (according to ICD-10):

all causes of death
cancer (malignant neoplasms) (ICD-10 C00–C97)
diseases of the circulatory system (ICD-10 I00–I99)
diseases of the respiratory system (ICD-10 J00–J99).

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth is the mean number of years a newborn child can expect to live if subjected throughout their life to the current mortality conditions. Life expectancy is normally calculated separately for all age levels, as well as for males, females and the total population.

Medical doctors

A medical doctor (or physician) has a degree in medicine. ‘Practising’ physicians are those who have successfully completed studies in medicine at university level, have a license to practise and who are working to provide services to individual patients (such as conducting medical examinations, making diagnoses or performing operations). Excluded from the count of practising physicians are students who have not yet graduated, unemployed physicians, retired physicians or physicians working abroad, as well as physicians working in administration, research or other posts that do not involve direct contact with patients.

Eurostat gives preference to the concept of practising physicians, although some data may be presented for ‘professionally active’ physicians (a physician for whom a medical education is a prerequisite for the execution of their job), or for ‘licensed’ physicians (a broader concept, encompassing the other 2 types of physician as well as other registered physicians who are entitled to practise as healthcare professionals but are unemployed, retired and so on).

Potential years of life lost

Potential years of life lost is an indicator measuring the number of years lost due to premature death, defined as death before the age of 70 or 75 years (in this publication, 75 years is used). It quantifies the social and economic burden of early mortality and is calculated by summing the years between age at death and the selected threshold (75 years) for each premature death. The indicator is typically expressed as a rate per 100 000 age-standardised population under the age of 75. This is the first year in which annual data for this indicator have been made available for NUTS level 2 regions.

Context

Health systems across the EU vary in their organisation, financing and management, with individual countries largely responsible for delivering health services. Policy development in the EU follows the open method of coordination, a voluntary process designed to set common objectives and encourage cooperation among national authorities.

Within the European Commission, the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety and the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion are responsible for health-related policy actions. Their efforts focus primarily on protecting people from health threats and disease, ensuring consumer protection (for example, food safety), promoting lifestyle choices (such as physical activity and balanced diets) and improving workplace safety.

EU4Health

Regulation (EU) 2021/522 establishing a Programme for the Union’s action in the field of health (‘EU4health programme’) for the period 2021 to 2027 provides funding to EU countries, health organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It has a budget of €5.8 billion and aims to improve health outcomes by supporting efficient and inclusive health systems, with objectives including to:

strengthen healthcare systems and their workforce
improve crisis preparedness and emergency responses
promote disease prevention and public health
ensure access to safe, affordable medicines
advance digital health and data sharing
support EU health agencies
reduce health inequalities across the EU.

The Healthier together – EU non-communicable diseases initiative is part of the EU4health programme. For the period 2022 to 2027, it has 5 key strands:

health determinants
cardiovascular diseases
diabetes
chronic respiratory diseases
mental health and neurological disorders.

Safe Hearts Plan

Diseases of the circulatory system are the leading cause of death in the EU. In 2023, they accounted for 1.6 million deaths across the EU, as well as resulting in significant disability, reduced life expectancy and associated economic losses. As part of its work on cardiovascular diseases under the Healthier together programme, the European Commission launched the Safe Hearts Plan at the end of 2025, the first EU-wide strategy on cardiovascular diseases.

The plan focuses on prevention, early detection, treatment and rehabilitation. It includes 10 flagship initiatives, such as a lifelong personalised and digitally enabled prevention programme, improved consumer information on food processing, the modernisation of tobacco control legislation, measures to support primary prevention and healthier food choices, as well as promoting vaccination against respiratory infections. The plan also introduces recommendations on personalised treatment and monitoring, and supports innovation through AI, alongside a research and innovation roadmap. Overall, the plan prioritises prevention, strengthens national strategies and empowers individuals, with the aim of reducing the burden and inequalities of cardiovascular diseases across the EU.

The European Health Union

In May 2024, the European Commission summarised the work done and progress made within the health domain through a communication The European Health Union: acting together for people’s health (COM(2024) 206 final). It highlights a range of actions designed to make people’s lives safer and healthier:

tackling serious cross-border health threats
creating a Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA)
bolstering the mandates of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
providing access for all to safe, affordable and innovative medicines
ensuring the availability of critical medicines and medical devices
fighting anti-microbial resistance (AMR)
ensuring the highest level of protection for those donating/receiving substances such as blood, tissues and cells by updating rules on the safety and quality of substances of human origin (SoHO)
making health systems more resilient
preventing non-communicable diseases
reinforcing a commitment to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
tackling rare diseases
safeguarding mental health
harnessing the power of digitalisation in health.

Digital health and care

Digital health encompasses a broad range of tools and services aimed at using information and communication technologies to enhance and support various aspects of healthcare. These include prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and the on-going management of health conditions.

Regulation (EU) 2025/327 on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) establishes the first EU-wide data space that is dedicated to a specific sector. The primary goal of the regulation is to establish a framework for the use and exchange of electronic health data across the EU. It seeks to enhance individuals’ access to and control over their personal health data, while enabling the secondary use / reuse of electronic health data.

Some of the key objectives of the EHDS include:

empowering individuals to access, control and share their electronic health data across borders (primary use of the data)
enabling the secure and trustworthy reuse of health data for research, innovation, policymaking and regulatory activities (secondary use of the data)
promoting the creation of a single, unified market for EHR systems across the EU, fostering interoperability.

These new rules are designed to improve the functioning of the internal market for digital health services and to maximise the potential of health data for a wide range of stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, researchers, regulators and innovators, while ensuring strict compliance with EU data protection standards. These include safeguards such as the anonymisation and pseudonymisation of data, secure data environments, permit-based access, transparency measures and patient opt-out rights.

Health agencies in the EU

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Frösunda (Sweden) is an EU agency. It provides surveillance of emerging health threats so that the EU can respond more rapidly, pools knowledge on current and emerging threats and works with national counterparts to develop disease monitoring across the EU.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), located in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), helps national regulators by coordinating scientific assessments of the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines used across the EU. All medicines in the EU must be approved nationally or by the EU before being placed on the market. The safety of pharmaceuticals that are sold in the EU is monitored throughout a product’s life cycle: individual products may be banned, or their sales/marketing suspended.

The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) in Lisbon (Portugal) is the central authority on illicit drugs in the EU. It frequently identifies important drug-related threats, helping EU countries be better prepared to handle them.

This article forms part of Eurostat’s annual flagship publication, the Eurostat regional yearbook.

You can explore the maps interactively using Eurostat’s Statistical Atlas.

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Database

Demography, population stock and balance (demo), see

Mortality (regional level) (demomreg)

Life expectancy by age, sex and NUTS 2 region (demo_r_mlifexp)

Health (hlth), see

Health care (hlth_care)

Health care resources (hlth_res)

Heath care staff (hlth_staff)

Physicians by NUTS 2 region (hlth_rs_physreg)

Health care facilities (hlth_facil)

Available beds in hospitals by NUTS 2 region (hlth_rs_bdsrg2)

Health care activities (hlth_act)

Hospital discharges of residents (hlth_rhosd)

Causes of death (hlth_cdeath)

General mortality (hlth_cd_gmor)

Causes of death - standardised death rate by NUTS 2 region of residence (hlth_cd_asdr2)

Causes of death - potential years of life lost by NUTS 2 region of residence (hlth_cd_ypyll)

Regional statistics by NUTS classification (reg), see

Regional health statistics (reg_hlth)

Causes of death (reg_hlth_cdeath)

Health care: resources and patients (non-expenditure data) (reg_hlth_care)

Thematic section

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Eurostat regional yearbook – 2026 edition

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Manuals and further methodological information

Metadata

Causes of death (SIMS metadata file – hlth_cdeath_sims)
Demographic balance and crude rates at regional level (ESMS metadata file – demo_r_gind3_esms)
Health care resources (ESMS metadata file – hlth_res_esms)
Hospital discharges (ESMS metadata file – hlth_hosd)

External links

Health statistics at regional level

Highlights

Healthcare resources

Mortality and causes of death

Focus on diseases of the circulatory system

Source data for figures and maps

Data sources

Causes of death

Healthcare resources

Life expectancy

Indicator definitions

Context

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