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Synthesis report

The Synthesis Report, published alongside the Country Health Profiles, showcases some of the most significant policy reform trends of health systems in the EU. It is funded by the European Commission through the EU4Health Programme and delivered in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (Observatory).

The 2025 edition of the State of Health in the EU’s Synthesis Report consists of two parts:

Part 1:  current challenges and policy responses

Part 1 examines current challenges and policy responses across four priority topics:

  1. Strengthening prevention to reduce the health and economic burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
    1. NCDs are the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the EU. Accordingly, in 2022, 2.4 million potential productive life years were lost, and more than 725 000 deaths could have been prevented.
    2. preventing NCD mortality in the EU would reduce the workforce decline due to population ageing by 12% between 2022-2040.
    3. Member States are responding with policies targeting tobacco and nicotine use, high alcohol consumption, obesity and physical inactivity, especially among youth.
    4. continued adaptation is needed to address emerging challenges such as vaping and childhood obesity.
  2. Transforming primary care from systems under strain to resilient foundations of health systems
    1. EU primary care is facing rising demand linked to an ageing population, chronic underinvestment and workforce shortages.
    2. only one in five doctors in the EU is general practitioner. In 2024, over one-third of European adults (35%) reported a long-standing illness or health problem. This proportion reached 60% among people aged over 65.
    3. Member States are implementing reforms to attract and retain primary care providers and develop more integrated systems that improve access, patient-centredness and efficiency.
  3. Scaling digital health to address health system pressures
    1. with COVID-19 as a backdrop, the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and the AI Act, the EU has significantly accelerated the digital transformation of healthcare
    2. investment in health-related ICT has grown by about 30% since 2021, responding to rising healthcare demands, workforce shortages and fostering innovation and high-skilled jobs in the health tech sector
    3. by the end of 2024, all EU Member States had implemented electronic health record (EHR) access services, with at least 80% of the population technically able to access their EHRs in 85% of countries.
  4. Advancing pharmaceutical reforms for affordable access and innovation
    1. in 2023, pharmacy medicines represented around 60% of total pharmaceutical expenditure and 13% of total health expenditure in the EU
    2. amid rising medicine prices and growing demand, Member States have implemented important pharmaceutical reforms between 2020 and 2025 to improve access and affordability to medicines, supported by the EU's pharmaceutical legislation and the Health Technology Assessment regulation.

Part 2: key findings and a graph for each country

Part 2 includes one-page summaries of key findings from all the Country Health Profiles and a graph highlighting a specific topic for each country. 

Previous editions