EU hospitals released 5 million cancer patients in 2023

In 2023, hospitals across the EU discharged 4.9 million in-patients diagnosed with cancer. Among these patients, colorectal cancer was the most common diagnosis (554 112 hospital discharges; 11.2% of all discharged cancer patients), followed by lung cancer (506 372; 10.3%) and breast cancer (480 922; 9.7%). Source dataset: hlth_tinpat1 In 18 EU countries, colorectal cancer was the leading diagnosis among discharged resident in-patients suffering from cancer. The discharge rate was highest in Croatia (360 discharged colorectal cancer patients per 100 000 inhabitants), Latvia (243) and Austria (239). In contrast, the lowest discharge rates were reported in Malta (31 patients per 100 000 inhabitants), Luxembourg (56) and Ireland (58). Source dataset: hlth_rinpat2 This article marks World Cancer Day, observed annually on 4 February.

Accessibility - basic services

9.2% of EU population struggled to keep their home warm

In 2024, 9.2% of the EU population was not able to keep their home adequately warm. Compared with 2023, this represents an improvement of 1.4 percentage point (pp). The highest shares of people unable to keep their homes adequately warm were observed in Bulgaria and Greece (both 19.0%), followed by Lithuania (18.0%), and Spain (17.5%). By contrast, Finland (2.7%), Poland and Slovenia (both 3.3%), and Estonia and Luxembourg (both 3.6%) reported the lowest shares. Source dataset: ilc_mdes01

Most adults across 24 countries are online at least several times a day

A median of 28% of adults across 24 countries say they are online almost constantly, and 40% say they use the internet several times a day.

How much fruit and vegetables does the EU harvest?

In 2024, the EU harvested 62.2 million tonnes of fresh vegetables (including melons), marking a 6% increase from the 58.8 million tonnes harvested in 2023. Spain (14.8 million tonnes), Italy (13.9 million tonnes) and France (5.8 million tonnes) were the EU’s top producers of fresh vegetables, together accounting for 55% of the total harvest. In 2024, the EU’s harvested production of several key vegetables increased compared to 2023: tomato production was 5% higher at 16.8 million tonnes, carrot production was 6% higher at 4.7 million tonnes and onion production was 11% higher at 7.0 million tonnes. Among EU countries, Italy was the biggest producer of tomatoes in 2024, accounting for 36% of the EU’s total tomato harvest, followed by Spain (27%) and Portugal (10%). Source dataset: apro_cpsh1 The top carrot producers in the EU were Germany (18% of the total), France (14%) and Poland (12%). The Netherlands was the EU’s leading onion producer in 2024, accounting for about one quarter (26%) of the EU’s harvested onions, followed by Spain (20%) and Germany (12%). 24.3 million tonnes of harvested fruit in 2024 In 2024, the EU’s production of fruits, berries and nuts (excluding citrus fruits, grapes and strawberries) was 24.3 million tonnes. This was 2% less than the quantity harvested in 2023. The EU’s main country producers of fruits, berries and nuts in 2024 were Italy (5.4 million tonnes), Spain (4.3 million tonnes) and Poland (4.1 million tonnes), which accounted for a combined 57% of the EU’s production. The EU’s harvested production of apples was 11.6 million tonnes in 2024, a majority of which came from Poland (29%), Italy (21%) and France (17%). EU production in 2024 was 4% lower than in 2023. Source dataset: apro_cpsh1 The EU also produced 1.9 million tonnes of pears in 2024, 2% more than in 2023. The main producers of pears were Italy (24% of the EU total), the Netherlands (17%) and Belgium (15%). The production of peaches was even more concentrated: Spain (37%), Italy (33%) and Greece (21%) together accounted for 91% of EU harvested production. EU production of peaches in 2024 was 2% higher than in 2023.

Key figures on Europe - busiest short sea shipping ports

Key figures on Europe - 2025 edition, published in July, provides an overview of recent developments in the EU, covering topics from people and society to economy, business, environment and natural resources. Today, we focus on the transport sector, highlighting the busiest short sea shipping ports in the EU. Short sea shipping is the maritime transport of goods over relatively short distances, namely between ports in the EU (sometimes candidate countries and EFTA countries), and ports situated in geographical Europe, on the Mediterranean and Black Sea. In 2023, the total weight of goods transported to/from main ports in the EU by short sea shipping was 1.6 billion tonnes; this was equivalent to a decrease of 5.4% when compared with 2022. Rotterdam in the Netherlands was by far the busiest EU port in terms of goods transported (159 million tonnes; 9.9% of the EU total). The second busiest port was the port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium (119 million tonnes), which was almost twice as busy as the next port, Gdańsk in Poland (61 million tonnes). Source dataset: mar_sg_am_pw The Key figures on Europe publication offers essential data on the EU and allows you to compare developments across EU members and EFTA countries. For a more detailed view of the EU’s performance in various fields, explore other Key figures publications as well.

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

The sustainable development goal ‘Good health and well-being’ (SDG 3) aims to ensure health and promote well-being for people of all ages by improving reproductive, maternal and child health, ending epidemics of major communicable diseases, and reducing non-communicable and mental diseases. It also calls for reducing behavioural and environmental health risk factors. One of the Eurostat indicators to measure progress in SDG 3 is the smoking prevalence in population aged 15 years and older. In 2023, 24% of the EU population aged 15 and older smoked, indicating a 2 percentage points decrease compared with 2017 (26%). Among men, the share was 28%, while 21% of women smoked. Sweden reported the lowest share of smokers (8%) among the population aged 15 and older, followed by the Netherlands (11%) and Denmark (14%). These 3 countries also recorded the lowest smoking rates for both men and women: Sweden (9% of men and 8% of women), the Netherlands (13% and 10%) and Denmark (16% and 12%). Source dataset: sdg_03_30 In contrast, Bulgaria had the highest overall share of smokers (37%), followed by Greece (36%) and Croatia (35%). Nearly half of the male population smoked in Bulgaria (49%), Latvia (48%) and Lithuania (43%). Among women, the highest smoking rates were recorded in Greece (32%), Croatia (30%) and Romania (29%).

Key figures on the EU in the world – tourism earnings

Key figures on the EU in the world combines Eurostat data with international sources to provide a clear picture of the EU’s position in the global arena. Today, we highlight the EU’s role in the world tourism sector. The EU received 25.9% of worldwide receipts from international tourism in 2023: 15.2% was from international tourism between EU countries, while 10.7% came from non-EU tourists. Considering EU countries individually, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands, Croatia and Poland would rank among the countries with at least 1.0% of worldwide receipts from international tourism. In 2023, 18 non-EU countries received at least 1.0% of worldwide receipts from international tourism. The United States had a 12.3% share, which was far higher than the share recorded for other non-EU countries; the United Kingdom had the next highest share (4.8%). Source datasets: bop_its6_det and the World Tourism Organization The Key figures on the EU in the world publication allows you to compare the EU’s performance globally across a wide range of topics. For a more detailed view of the EU’s performance in various fields, explore other Key figures publications as well.

Deaths by drowning in the EU down by 4% in 2022

With summer in full swing, beaches and pools are bustling with activity; however, they also carry a heightened risk of drowning incidents. In 2022, there were 4 810 deaths by drowning and submersion in the EU, 194 fewer than in 2021 (5 004), indicating a 3.9% decrease. The share of drownings and submersion fatalities out of all accidental deaths also decreased slightly from 3.1% in 2021 to 2.8% in 2022, making this the lowest share since the data collection started in 2011, when drownings and submersion fatalities represented 4.2% of all accidental deaths. Among EU countries, in 2022, the highest number of drowning and submersion deaths was reported in France (784), which accounts for 16.3% of all drowning fatalities in the EU, followed by Germany (542), Poland (535), Romania (472) and Spain (449). The lowest numbers in the EU were recorded in Luxembourg (1), Malta (3), Cyprus (13) and Slovenia (25). Source dataset: hlth_cd_aro As in previous years, drowning deaths were more common among men than women. In 2022, this was the case in all EU countries. However, in Slovenia (14 men, 11 women), the difference was less substantial than in other EU countries. In Luxembourg, the only victim was male.

1.45 million new battery-only electric cars in 2024

In 2024, 1.45 million new battery-only electric passenger cars were registered in the EU, a decrease of 6.1% compared with 2023 (1.55 million). This brought the total number of battery-only electric cars to 5.87 million, representing an increase in the fleet of 32.4% compared with 2023 (4.43 million). This information comes from data published by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on passenger cars in the EU. Source datasets: road_eqr_carpda, road_eqr_zev The share of battery-only electric cars among all new registrations fell to 13.6% in 2024, 1.0 percentage point (pp) below the level in 2023 (14.6%). This share had remained below 1% until 2018, but grown notably in recent years, rising to 5.3% in 2020, 9.0% in 2021 and 12.1% in 2022. While plug-in hybrid cars recorded a decline of 6.5%, similar to battery-only electric passenger cars, the total number of new hybrid passenger cars increased by 12.7% in 2024 (3.95 million) compared with 2023 (3.50 million). The highest shares of battery-only electric cars in new registered cars were found in Denmark (51.3%), Malta (37.7%) and Sweden (34.9%). By contrast, the lowest recorded shares were in Croatia (1.8%), Slovakia (2.4%) and Poland (3.0%). Source datasets: road_eqs_carpda, road_eqs_zev Regarding other types of new battery-only electric vehicles, which are much fewer than new battery-only electric passenger cars, the number of new heavy lorries increased the most from 2023 to 2024, by 39.7%, followed by road tractors (+35.5%) and motor coaches and buses (+28.2%), while there was a decrease for light lorries (-10.8%). Despite some significant increases, their total number showed a decrease of 6.8% compared with 2023.

W Polsce jest więcej psów niż dzieci. To symptom głębszych zmian społecznych

W 2023 r. w Polsce żyło 8,5 mln psów i 7,2 mln dzieci – o 1,3 mln mniej. To efekt równoczesnego wzrostu liczby zwierząt domowych i spadku urodzeń, wskazujący na strukturalne zmiany w stylu życia, relacjach społecznych i sytuacji ekonomicznej młodego pokolenia.

EU ice cream production sees uptick of 2% in 2024

In 2024, the EU produced 3.3 billion litres of ice cream, representing a 2% increase from 2023 (3.2 billion litres). Germany remained the top producer of ice cream in the EU, producing 607 million litres in 2024. France (501 million litres) and Italy (492 million litres) followed at the top. The list of main producers also included Spain (378 million litres) and Poland (298 million litres). Compared with 2023, among these 5 EU countries, only Poland registered a surge in production, at +29%. France recorded a decline of 12%, Italy 7%, Spain 6% and Germany saw a slight decrease of 1%. However, the production of ice cream increased in more EU countries than it decreased, resulting in an overall rise in production. Other significant increases were registered in Belgium (+35%), Bulgaria (+19%), and Czechia (+15%). Source dataset: DS-056120 France remains the main exporter of ice cream in the EU In 2024, EU countries exported 265.3 million kg of ice cream to non-EU countries and imported 69.3 million kg. The quantity of exports increased only by 1% compared with 2023 (+2.8 million kg), while extra-EU imports rose significantly by 24% (+13.6 million kg). As in previous years, France was the largest ice cream exporter in the EU, exporting 55.9 million kg of ice cream in 2024 to non-EU countries. This represented a fifth of the total extra-EU ice cream exports (21%). France was followed by Italy (42.6 million kg of ice cream; 16% of EU ice cream exports), the Netherlands (31.9 million kg; 12%), Germany (28.2 million kg; 11%), and Belgium (27 million kg; 10%). Source dataset: DS-016894

Beer production increases to 34.7 billion litres

In 2024, EU countries produced 32.7 billion (bn) litres of beer containing more than 0.5% alcohol and 2 bn litres of beer with less than 0.5% alcohol or with no alcohol content at all, totalling 34.7 bn litres. Compared with 2023, the production of beer with more than 0.5% alcohol in the EU increased slightly by 0.6% (+0.2 bn litres), while the production of beer with less than 0.5% alcohol rose by 11.1% (+0.2 bn litres). The list of top EU producers remains unchanged in 2024. Germany continued to lead as the top producer of beer with more than 0.5% alcohol, with 7.2 bn litres (22.2% of the total EU production), the same as in 2023. Germany was followed at a distance by Spain, with 4.0 bn litres (12.3% of the total EU production) and Poland with 3.4 bn litres (10.6%). The Netherlands, with 2.2 bn litres (6.8%) and Belgium, with 2.1 bn litres (6.3%), also featured in the top 5 producers. Source dataset: DS-056120 The Netherlands top exporter and France top importer Maintaining its record as the top exporter of beer, the Netherlands led among EU countries with a total (intra- and extra-EU) of 1.5 bn litres of beer containing alcohol exported in 2024. Compared with 2023, however, this country saw a decrease of 12% (-0.2 bn litres) in beer exports. The Netherlands was followed by Germany and Belgium (both exporting 1.4 bn litres), Czechia (0.6 bn litres) and Ireland (0.5 bn litres) as the main exporters in 2024. For imports, France continued to be the largest importer of beer containing alcohol in 2024, with 0.8 bn litres. The other big importers were Italy with more than 0.7 bn litres, followed by Spain and Germany each with almost 0.6 bn litres, and the Netherlands with almost 0.5 bn litres. Source dataset: DS-045409 This news article marks International Beer Day, celebrated each year on the first Friday of August.