Greece recorded the highest rates of unmet medical and dental needs in the EU in 2024, according to newly released data from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office responsible for publishing Europe-wide statistics and indicators.

According to Eurostat, 13.4% of Greeks aged 16 and over reported being unable to access necessary medical care due to financial barriers, long waiting lists, or distance from healthcare providers. This is the highest figure in the EU, where the average stands at just 3.8%. In comparison, just 0.2% of Cypriots reported the same barriers to healthcare access, the lowest percentage in the EU.

People at risk of poverty in Greece were more affected. 32.3% of reported unmet medical needs for major barriers. Unsurprisingly, 19.6% of Greeks not at risk of poverty reported similar barriers – a difference of 12.7 points, and the highest in the EU.

In the percentage of Greeks reporting unmet needs for medical care was also higher for Greeks 65 years or over, at 28.2%. That’s 24.3 points higher than Greece’s 16 to 44 year age group which stood at just 3.9%. 

Dental care didn’t fare any better. In 2024, 4.6% of people aged 16 years or over in the EU reported that they had unmet needs for dental care, compared to 15.3% in Greece. This is also the highest percentage in the EU, with the likeliest reason being related to Greece’s health care system.

Access to dental care was also highly skewed against Greeks at risk of poverty. 52.8% of Greeks at risk of poverty reported such unmet needs compared with 22.7% for those not at risk, a gap of 30.1 points, and the second biggest gap in the EU after Romania.