Over 1 million deaths could have been prevented in Europe – Where rates are highest
More than 1.1 million deaths in 2022 could have been prevented or successfully treated with better public health measures and improved healthcare services, according to the latest OECD–EU report, Health at a Glance: Europe 2024. These deaths represented over one in five fatalities among EU citizens.
What Counts as a Preventable Death?
Eurostat distinguishes between two main categories:
1. Preventable deaths
Causes that could have been avoided through effective public health interventions.
These include:
2. Treatable deaths
Causes for which timely and high-quality healthcare could have prevented death.
Examples include:
- Ischemic heart disease
- Colorectal cancer
- Breast cancer
- Stroke
- Pneumonia
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
In 2022, people under 75 accounted for a total of 1.11 million avoidable deaths across the EU.
Wide Variation Across Europe
Using the age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants under 75:
- Lowest: Sweden (169 deaths)
- Highest: Latvia (543 deaths)
- EU Average: 258 deaths
- Including non-EU countries, Switzerland recorded the lowest rate overall (153 per 100,000).
Clear East–West Divide
Countries with the highest avoidable mortality rates were almost all in Eastern and Baltic Europe:
- Latvia
- Romania
- Hungary
- Lithuania
- Bulgaria
All exceeded 470 deaths per 100,000.
Slightly lower—but still high—rates were recorded in:
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Estonia
Western and Northern Europe performed far better, with Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and France all below 200 deaths per 100,000.
Southern and Central Europe
Countries such as Croatia, Poland, Türkiye, Greece, Czechia, and Italy showed medium-level rates, usually between 200 and 300 deaths per 100,000.
Germany, despite being below the EU average, had the highest avoidable mortality rate among major EU economies (249 deaths).
Breakdown of Preventable vs Treatable Deaths
Of the 1.11 million avoidable deaths:
65% (725,624) were preventable
35% (386,709) were treatable
This equals:
168 preventable deaths per 100,000
98 treatable deaths per 100,000
Countries with high preventable mortality generally also had high treatable mortality.
Leading Causes
For treatable mortality in the EU:
Heart disease: 21%
Colorectal cancer: 14%
Breast cancer & stroke: 10% each
Pneumonia: 8%
Hypertension: 5%
Diabetes: 4%
For preventable mortality:
COVID-19 was the top cause in 2021 (24%)
By 2022, this dropped to 10%
Lung cancer became the leading cause (19%), followed by heart disease (11%)
Alcohol-related deaths accounted for 8%
Why Do Rates Differ?
Experts highlight several factors influencing avoidable mortality:
1. Public Health Spending
Countries with higher public health expenditure generally show lower treatable mortality—for example:
- Sweden invests a large share of its GDP in health
- Bulgaria invests far less
2. Lifestyle Risk Factors
Higher rates of:
- Smoking
- Alcohol consumption
are strongly associated with worse outcomes, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
3. Delayed Medical Advances
Persistently high cardiovascular mortality in Eastern Europe is linked to the late adoption of modern medical technologies and preventive policies.
4. Variations in Cause-of-Death Recording
Differences in how causes of death are registered can inflate or deflate national statistics.
5. Cancer Screening Gaps
Screening participation for:
- Colorectal cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Breast cancer
varies widely. Northern and Western European countries show strong screening systems, Southern Europe performs moderately, and Eastern Europe/Balkan states lag significantly behind.
