Health at a Glance: Europe 2016
State of Health in the EU Cycle

This fourth edition of Health at a Glance: Europe presents key indicators of health and health systems in the 28 EU countries, 5 candidate countries to the EU and 3 EFTA countries. This 2016 edition contains two main new features: two thematic chapters analyse the links between population health and labour market outcomes, and the important challenge of strengthening primary care systems in European countries; and a new chapter on the resilience, efficiency and sustainability of health systems in Europe, in order to align the content of this publication more closely with the 2014 European Commission Communication on effective, accessible and resilient health systems. This publication is the result of a renewed collaboration between the OECD and the European Commission under the broader "State of Health in the EU" initiative, designed to support EU member states in their evidence-based policy making.
Executive summary
Life expectancy across EU member states has increased by more than six years since 1990, rising from 74.2 years in 1990 to 80.9 years in 2014, yet inequalities persist both across and within countries. People in Western European countries with the highest life expectancy continue to live over eight years longer, on average, than people in Central and Eastern European countries with the lowest life expectancy. Within countries, large inequalities in health and life expectancy also persist between people with higher levels of education and income and the more disadvantaged. This is largely due to different exposure to health risks, but also to disparities in access to high-quality care.
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 227.02KBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD