Eurostat data Reveals Stark Disparities in Youth Health Perceptions Across EU Nations
New data from Eurostat highlights significant variations in how young people across the European union perceive their own health. While many nations report high levels of self-assessed well-being among 16-29 year olds, some countries, notably in Northern Europe, show notably lower percentages of young individuals rating their health as good or very good.
In 2024, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark recorded the lowest proportions of young people (aged 16-29) who described their health as good or very good, with figures standing at 76.3%, 79.3%, and 79.8% respectively. This stands in contrast to countries like Romania, where an impressive 98.2% of young people reported good or very good health. Greece (97.7%) and Croatia (96.2%) also reported exceptionally high percentages. 16 EU member states saw more than 90% of their young population express a positive self-assessment of their health.
Further analysis of the data reveals nuances within these trends. In Latvia, as an example, only 10.6% of young individuals rated their health as “very good.” However, a substantial 86% still considered their health to be either “good or very good.” The same report indicated that 9.9% of young Latvians described their health as “fair,” and 3.4% as “bad,” the latter being the second-highest rate in the EU,surpassed only by Sweden’s 4.1%.
The divergence between the health perceptions of young people and the general population is also noteworthy. Lithuania reported the largest gap,with a 36.3 percentage point difference in the proportion of young people versus the total population rating their health as very good or good. Latvia followed closely with a 35.9 percentage point difference.
Eurostat suggests that these cross-country variations in self-perceived health might potentially be influenced by a combination of factors, including overall national health standards, as well as distinct social and cultural norms that shape how individuals evaluate their personal health and report health issues in surveys.
