EUROSTAT - European Union Statistical Office

01/19/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/19/2026 04:02

3.2% of children had unmet needs for medical care in 2024

In 2024, 3.2% of children in the EU aged 16 or less were reported to have unmet needs for medical care (examination and treatment), down from 3.6% in 2021. For dental care, 4.0% had unmet needs, compared with 4.4% in 2021.

At national level, the highest shares of children with unmet needs for medical care were found in Finland (9.4%), followed by France (5.7%) and Ireland (5.0%). Meanwhile, the lowest shares were reported by Croatia and Malta (both 0.1%) and Cyprus (0.6%).

Regarding children with unmet needs for dental care, Spain had the highest share (7.5%), followed by Finland (6.8%) and France (6.2%). At the other end of the scale, Croatia registered the lowest level (0.2%), ahead of Malta (0.5%) and Luxembourg (1.0%).

Source dataset: ilc_hch14

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