Greece had 423 hospital beds per 100,000 residents, according to figures released by the European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat, for 2024. The number places Greece below the average across the 27-nation bloc, even as debate continues over hospital funding and capacity in the country.
Eurostat counted 507 hospital beds per 100,000 people across the EU last year. That figure fell from 511 in 2023. It marks the lowest level since Eurostat began tracking the measure in 2009, when the average stood at 582 beds per 100,000 people.
Researchers point to medical advances as the main driver behind the long decline. Shorter hospital stays and a shift toward outpatient and day care treatment have cut the need for overnight beds across much of Europe.
How Greece’s hospital beds compare across the EU
Bulgaria reported the highest ratio among EU members, with 870 beds per 100,000 residents. Germany followed with 759, then Romania at 731, Austria at 655, and Czechia at 639.
The EU had 507 hospital beds per 100 000 people in 2024. 🏥👩⚕️
Highest ratios:
🇧🇬 Bulgaria (870 hospital beds per 100 000 people)
🇩🇪 Germany (759)
🇷🇴 Romania (731)Lowest:
🇸🇪 Sweden (187)
🇳🇱 Netherlands (221)
🇩🇰 Denmark (226)Learn more 👉 https://t.co/iGxbEU8Bv4 pic.twitter.com/UQzPpg38zW
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) July 13, 2026
On the other end, six countries fell below 300 beds per 100,000 people. Sweden recorded the lowest rate at 187, followed by the Netherlands at 221, Denmark at 226, Finland at 248, Spain at 283, and Ireland at 293.
Greece’s hospital bed total sits well below the EU average, yet it still ranks ahead of several Western European nations, including Spain and Ireland.
In raw numbers, the country had 43,908 hospital beds in 2024, down slightly from 44,133 the year before. The rate has stayed fairly steady over the past decade, hovering near its current level since 2013.
Greece falls behind on long-term nursing care beds
A separate measure paints a starker picture. Eurostat also tracked long-term care beds in nursing homes and other residential facilities and found Greece at the very bottom, with just 20 beds per 100,000 people. Only Bulgaria, at 26, came close to that low mark.
Portugal followed at 94. By contrast, the Netherlands led that category with 1,390 long-term care beds per 100,000 residents, trailed by Sweden at 1,298 and Belgium at 1,249.
The wide gap between hospital capacity and long-term care resources in Greece points to a broader pattern across southern Europe, where nursing home infrastructure trails far behind that of northern neighbors.
As Europe’s population ages, that gap is likely to draw more attention from health planners in the years ahead.
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