In 2021, 2.3 % of the EU population (aged 16 years or over) in rural areas declared (based on self-assessment) they had an unmet need for medical examination for one of the three reasons specified above, while in towns and suburbs or in cities it was 1.9 %.

In 2021, some 3.8 % of older people (aged 65 years or over) living in EU’s rural areas declared an unmet need for medical examination, and this was 2.0 percentage points higher than the 1.8 % share recorded among the working-age population (aged 16–64 years) living in rural areas.

The share of older people living in rural areas with unmet needs for medical examination, for the above-mentioned reasons, peaked in in Greece (15.8 %) and in Romania (13.6 %).

The share of working-age people living in rural areas with unmet needs for medical examination was the highest in Estonia (4.9 %), in Slovenia (3.5 %) and in Romania (3.3 %).

For more information, visit Eurostat’s publication on Rural Europe, quality of life in rural areas chapter.

By courtesy of Eurostat.