Denmark, Sweden and Finland recorded the highest breast cancer screening rates in the EU in 2024 among women aged 50 to 69 who had a mammogram within the previous two years.
Denmark topped the list at 82.1%, followed by Sweden at 82.0% and Finland at 81.6%, with Slovenia (77.8%) and Ireland (71.2%) next, Eurostat informed on Friday.
The lowest screening rates were reported in Hungary (27.2%), Cyprus (29.2%) and Poland (33.8%), followed by Latvia (38.2%) and Austria (41.3%).
Compared with 2019, screening rates increased in nine EU countries where data were available, with the biggest rises in Slovakia (+12.5 percentage points), Croatia (+10.0) and Estonia (+9.9).
Rates were unchanged in Sweden and Finland, while they fell in 11 countries — ranging from a drop of 0.4 percentage points in Ireland to 21.8 points in Malta.
Mammography machines vary widely across the EU
Greece and Cyprus had the highest availability of mammography units — machines used exclusively to take mammograms — among EU countries with data, with 7.6 and 6.9 units per 100,000 inhabitants respectively, Eurostat said.
Italy followed with 3.7 units per 100,000 people, while Poland, Czechia, Sweden and Romania recorded the lowest availability at 1.1 units per 100,000.
The number of mammography units per 100,000 inhabitants increased in 10 EU countries compared with 2019, with the largest rise in Cyprus (+1.3 units), while it fell in four countries including Sweden (-0.8) and Malta (-0.7).
