The persistent effect of high blood pressure in arteries may lead to the chronic failure of vital organs such as the heart, kidneys or brain. In 2019, 22% of people in the EU aged 15 years and over reported having high blood pressure.
Among the EU countries, the highest shares of high blood pressure were recorded in Croatia (37% of people aged 15 years and over), Latvia and Hungary (both 32%). In contrast, the lowest shares were recorded in Ireland (12%), Luxembourg, Romania and the Netherlands (all 16%).
Source dataset: hlth_ehis_cd1e
In 2019, the share of women in the EU reporting they had high blood pressure was slightly higher than the share of men (23% vs. 21%). The highest shares of women with high blood pressure were recorded in Croatia (38%), Latvia (37%) and Hungary (34%). On the other hand, the highest shares of men with high blood pressure were recorded in Croatia (36%), Hungary (29%) and Finland (28%).
For more information:
- Eurostat Statistics Explained article on cardiovascular diseases statistics
- The data are from the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS), conducted in 2019 covering people aged 15 and over. You can read more about the EHIS in the methodological Statistics Explained article.
- Data presented in this article refer to the share of the population aged 15 years and over reporting that they had been diagnosed by a medical doctor with high blood pressure in the 12 months prior to the survey.
- Eurostat dedicated section on health statistics
- Eurostat database on health statistics
To contact us, please visit our User Support page.
For press queries, please contact our Media Support.