Filenews 7 August 2025
The results of the GHS are visible, as Cyprus had the lowest percentage in the EU in non-meeting medical needs in 2024, according to Eurostat.
While in the EU the percentage of people aged 16 and over who stated that they had unmet needs for medical examination or treatment in 2024 amounted to 3.8%, the corresponding percentage in Cyprus was 0.2%, the lowest recorded in the EU. At the other extreme, with the most declared unmet medical needs, is Greece, with a percentage of 13.4%.
In the EU, the two most common main reasons for unmet medical care needs in 2024 were waiting lists or that care was too expensive. Together, these two reasons accounted for more than half of the people who reported an unmet need for medical care. As a percentage of the total population (aged 16 and over), 1.4% related to waiting lists and 1% related to high costs.
The next most common reasons cited were the desire to wait to see if the problem will improve on its own (0.4%) and lack of time (0.3%). Less common reasons included fear, not knowing a good doctor or specialist, or that the distance was too long (all at 0.1%). In addition, 0.5% of people reported another (undefined) reason for unmet need for medical care.
Having a waiting list as a barrier to medical care was the most common reason for unmet needs in countries such as Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden in 2024.
The high cost of medical care has been the most common reason for unmet needs in countries such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Italy, Cyprus and Romania.
The desire to wait to see if the problem will improve on its own was the most common reason in countries such as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia, Luxembourg and Malta.
Unmet needs for dental examination and treatment
As far as dental care is concerned, the unmet needs rate at EU level in 2024 stands at 4.6%, with Cyprus at 2.5%.
The lowest percentages for unmet dental needs were recorded in Germany (0.7%) and Malta (0.8%), while the highest rates were recorded in Greece (15.3%), Latvia (12%) and Denmark (11.9%).
The high price has been by far the most common main reason for unmet dental care needs. After cost, the next most common reasons cited were waiting lists (0.5% of people), fear (0.3%) and lack of time (also 0.3%). Less common reasons included wanting to wait to see if the problem would solve itself (0.2%), being too far away (0.1%), or not knowing a good dentist or specialist (also 0.1%).
High dental care costs were the most frequent specific reason for unmet needs in 23 of the 27 EU countries in 2024. In Spain and Italy, at least three-quarters of people with unmet need said that the main reason was cost.
There were four exceptions, where cost was not the most common main reason: in the Czech Republic, the main reason was cost and waiting lists, in Finland and Slovenia, waiting lists were the most common reason, reported by over three-quarters of those with unmet needs, and in Malta, where the overall rate of unmet needs was very low; The most common reason was fear.
CNA
