(22 November 2018) – The 2018 Health at a Glance: Europe report issued today shows that the steady increase of life expectancy has slowed down and that large gaps across and within countries persist, notably leaving people with a low level of education by the wayside.
.This joint report of the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is based upon comparative analyses of the health status of EU citizens and the performance of the health systems in the 28 Member States, 5 candidate countries and 3 EFTA countries.
Until recently, life expectancy was rising rapidly and steadily across EU countries. However, since 2011, the gains in life expectancy have slowed down markedly.
Moreover, large disparities in life expectancy persist not only by sex but also by socioeconomic status. Low-income households are five times more likely to report unmet care needs than high-income households.