Social Situation Report 2009

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1. Tekst

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 27 January 2010

5787/10 ADD 3

SOC 48

COVER NOTE from:

date of receipt: to:

Subject:

Secretary-General of the European Commission,

signed by Mr Jordi AYET PUIGARNAU, Director

22 January 2010

Mr Pierre de BOISSIEU, Secretary-General of the Council of the European

Union

Social Situation Report 2009

Delegations will find attached Commission document SEC(2010) 55 final - Part 2 (pages 301 to 337).

Encl.: SEC(2010) 55 final - Part 2

5787/10 ADD 3

MdP/mk

DG G 2B

Material deprivation is much higher for the poor population

Material deprivation was also significantly higher for the at-risk-of-poverty population, 40 % on average in the EU-27 as opposed to 12 % for the population above the poverty threshold. This means that among the 495 million EU citizens in 2007, 32 million were both at risk of poverty and materially deprived.

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In general, the correlation measured at country level between the standard at-risk-of-poverty rate and the material deprivation rate is quite low (0.42), given essentially that in most countries not all people living in low-income households face material deprivation and vice-versa. The former indicator measures relative poverty expressed in monetary terms while the latter follows a more absolute approach in terms of incapacity to afford some items which are considered desirable or even necessary by most people to have an adequate life. Following this pattern, in most old Member States, less than one third of the at-risk-of-poverty population was also concerned by material deprivation. On the other hand, monetary poverty tended to be a synonym for material deprivation in Romania (85 % of the population at risk of poverty), Latvia (76 %) and Hungary (71 %).

Material deprivation is more intense in countries where it is more frequent

The intensity of material deprivation, i.e. the mean number of deprived items among the deprived population, correlated highly with the material deprivation rate when measured at country level (0.88). In particular the intensity is greater in countries in which the highest share of population considered materially deprived is observed. At EU level the mean number of deprived items (among the deprived population) was 3.8 in 2007.

301

Material deprivation and its intensity in the EU (%), 2007

Error! Not a valid link. Source: EU-SILC

Almost one child in ten lives in a dwelling with serious drawbacks

Given the importance of housing cost in disposable income the improvement of access to affordable and good quality housing conditions plays a particular role in the fight against social exclusion. Therefore information on housing deprivation completes the picture described by the material deprivation rate (only dealing with the economic strain and durables aspects).

In particular the index of severe housing deprivation shows that 7% of the whole EU27 population was concerned in 2007, with a peak of 31 % in Romania and more than 20 % in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. On the other hand, the share of the population living in dwellings with serious drawbacks is extremely low in half of the Member States.

302

Index of severe housing deprivation in the EU (%), 2007

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Source: EU-SILC

In all countries the share of children (9.3 %) confronted with poor housing conditions was higher than the population average, as opposed to only 3.3 % of the elderly.

Severe housing deprivation by age, 2007

65 years and more

BE BG CZ DK DE EE

Below 18 years	9.3	1.7	30.6	12.4	2.5	1.6	19.9	2.0	9.4	2.9	4.2	9.6	1.0	31.3	28.6	3.1	19.2	1.0
Between 18 and 64 years	6.9	1.2	17.1	7.8	1.7	1.0	14.3	1.1	8.5	1.7	3.4	7.6	0.8	24.4	21.5	2.1	13.5	0.6

8.0 2.9 0.0 0.2 8.8 0.3 5.6 0.5 1.0 2.9 0.7 15.5 12.5 0.7 9.5

T PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK HR MK TR IS LI NO CH

Below 18 years	0.9	5.2	31.6	11.2	44.4	14.8	6.1	0.3	1.1	3.5	2.1	1.3
Between 18 and 64 years	0.8	3.9	25.3	7.7	29.4	12.3	4.0	0.9	1.2	1.7	1.6	1.2
65 years and more	0.1	1.1	18.6	2.5	17.9	7.4	3.2	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.1

Source: EU-SILC

One of the key dimensions in assessing housing conditions concerns the level of occupation of dwellings. In 2007, 17.3 % of the EU population lived in an overcrowded dwelling according to the recently adopted EU definition. While the proportion was very low in Cyprus and the Netherlands (both below 2 %), the share of population living in an overcrowded dwelling reached or exceeded 50 % in Bulgaria (50 %), Poland and Lithuania (both 52 %), Romania (54 %) and Latvia (59 %).

303

EU-27

EL ES

IT C

LU HU

3.3

0.1

0.6

Overcrowding rate in the EU (%), 2007

Error! Not a valid link.

Source: EU-SILC

The figures for enforced lack of 'Bath/shower' and 'Indoor toilet' ranged in 2007 from a few percent in most Member States to about 20 % in the Baltic countries and more than 40 % in Romania. As regards dwellings considered as too dark, the values varied, going up to 17 % in Portugal.

Finally the affordability of housing should also be considered to assess the risk of social exclusion. The Indicators Sub-Group of the Social Protection Committee adopted in June 2009 an indicator measuring the share of population for which net housing cost represents more than 40% of disposable income. This share stands at 12.7 % in the EU-27 with variations from between 2 % and 3 % in Cyprus, Malta and Ireland to 40 % in Bulgaria. With the reduced income the elderly are more exposed (14.4 %) to housing cost overburden than the rest of the population.

304

Housing cost overburden rate (%), 2007

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Source: EU-SILC

Policy context

Improvement of living conditions and eradication of poverty are key objectives of the European Union. Under Article 136 of the EC Treaty the Member States must strive to promote employment, improved living and working conditions, proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources with a view to lasting employment and the combating of social exclusion.

In 2000, EU leaders established the Social Inclusion Process to make a decisive impact on eradicating poverty by 2010. Since then, the European Union has provided a framework for national strategy development as well as for policy coordination between the Member States on issues relating to poverty and social exclusion. Participation by actors such as NGOs, social partners and local and regional authorities has become an important part of this process.

Τhe European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010), which will coincide with the expiry of the Lisbon strategy, has the following objectives: (a) recognise the right of people in a situation of poverty and social exclusion to live in dignity and to play a full part in society; (b) increase public ownership of social inclusion policies and actions; (c) promote a more cohesive society; and (d) reiterate the strong political commitment of the EU to the fight against poverty and social exclusion.

Methodological notes

Sources: Eurostat – Community Statistics on Income and Living Conditions EU-SILC (2007) income reference period 2006; except for UK, income year 2007 and for IE moving income reference period (2006-2007).

EU aggregates are Eurostat estimates obtained as a population size weighted average of national data.

Material deprivation is defined as the enforced lack of at least three of the nine following items¹; ability to meet unexpected expenses, ability to pay for a one week annual holiday away from home, existence of arrears (mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, hire purchase instalments or other loan payments), capacity to have a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day, capacity to keep home adequately warm, possession of a washing machine, a colour TV, a telephone or a personal car.

The index of severe housing deprivation is defined as the percentage of the population living in an overcrowded household AND deprived of at least one out of 3 housing items (1- leaking roof, damp walls/floors/foundation, or rot in window frames or floor; 2- bath or shower in the dwelling and indoor flushing toilet for sole use of the household; 3- problems with the dwelling: too dark, not enough light).

The overcrowding rate is defined as the percentage of the population living in an overcrowded household; a person is considered as living in an overcrowded household if the household does not have at its disposal a minimum of rooms equal to:

-

one room for the household;
-

one room for each couple;
-

one room for each single person aged 18+;
-

one room for two single people of the same sex between 12 and 17 years of age;
-

one room for each single person of different sex between 12 and 17 years of age;
-

one room for two people under 12 years of age.

The Housing cost overburden rate is defined as the percentage of the population living in a household where total housing costs (net of housing allowances) represent more than 40% of the total disposable household income (net of housing allowances).

Further reading

•

Statistics in Focus (Population and social conditions): “79 million EU citizens were at-risk-of-poverty in 2007”, No 46/2009.
•

“Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2009”, 2009, European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

The indicator makes an essential distinction between the persons who cannot afford a certain good or service, and those who do not have this good or service for any other reason, e.g. because they do not want or do not need it.

305

•

(COM(2008) 418 final) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. "A renewed commitment to social Europe: Reinforcing the Open Method of Coordination for Social Protection and Social Inclusion", July 2008
•

“European social statistics: Income, Poverty and Social Exclusion 2^nd Report”, 2003 edition. Eurostat

Material deprivation rate, (2004-2007)

	Total				Females				Males
	2004 I	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007	2004 I	2005 I 2006 I		2007	2004 1	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007
EU-2 7	:	17s	17s	17s	:	18s	17s	17s	:	17s	16s	16s
EU-2 5	:	17	17	16	:	18	17	17	:	17	16	15
EU-15	:	12	12	13	:	13	13	13	:	12	12	12

EA-15	:	13	13	13	:	13	14	14	:	12	12	12
EA-13	:	13	13	13	:	13	14	14	:	12	12	12
EA-12	:	13	13	13	:	13	14	14	:	12	12	12

BE	12	13	13	12	12	14	14	13	12	13	12	11
BG	::::::::::::
CZ	:	23	20	16	:	24	21	17	:	21	19	15
DK	6	8	8	7	7	8	9	8	6	7	7	6
DE	:	11	13	12	:	12	14	13	:	10	13	11
EE	21	27	18	15	23	28	19	17	20	25	16	14
IE	10	11	11	10	11	12	12	11	10	10	11	9
EL	25	26	23	22	26	28	25	23	24	25	22	21
ES	13	11	11	10	13	11	11	10	13	11	11	9
FR	14	13	13	12	15	14	14	12	14	12	12	11
IT	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	16	14	14	13	14
CY	:	31	31	31	:	32	31	32	:	31	30	30
LV	:	56	50	45	:	59	53	47	:	54	47	42
LT	:	52	41	30	:	53	43	31	:	50	39	28
LU	3	4	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	3	2
HU	:	40	38	37	:	41	38	38	:	39	37	37
MT	:	15	12	13	:	16	13	14	:	14	12	12
NL	:	8	6	6	:	8	7	6	:	7	6	5
AT	8	8	10	10	9	9	10	11	8	8	10	9
PL	:	51	44	38	:	51	45	39	:	50	43	38
PT	22	21	20	22	23	22	20	23	21	20	19	22
RO	:	:	:	53	:	:	:	54	:	:	:	53
SI	:	15	14	14	:	15	15	15	:	14	14	14
SK	:	43	36	30	:	44	37	32	:	42	35	28
FI	11	11	10	9	11	11	11	11	10	10	9	8
SE	7	6	6	6	7	7	6	6	6	5	6	6
UK	:	13	11	10	:	13	12	11	:	12	10	10

HR	::::::::::::
MK	::::::::::::
TR	::::::::::::

IS	8	8	7	7	9	9	8	8	8	7	6	7
LI	::::::::::::
NO	6	7	6	5	6	7	6	5	6	7	6	4
CH	::::::::::::

Source: EU-SILC

s Eurostat estimate

Error! Not a valid link.

306

Mean number of deprivation items among the deprived

Total

Females

Males

2004 |

2005 |

2006 |

2007

2004 |

2005 |

2006 |

2007

2004 |

2005 |

2006 |

2007

EU-27

3.8

EU-25

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.8

EU-15

3.6

EA-15

3.6

EA-13

3.6

EA-12

3.6

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.7

3.6

3.8

3.7

4.5

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.8

3.7

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.6

3.8

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.8

3.6

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.5

3.9

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.9

3.8

3.9

3.8

3.4

3.6

3.7

3.6

3.5

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

4.4

4.1

4.4

4.1

4.4

4.1

4.2

4.1

4.2

4.1

3.9

4.2

4.1

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.5

3.3

3.5

3.6

3.4

3.5

3.9

3.6

3.4

3.5

3.4

3.6

3.4

3.5

3.4

3.5

3.3

3.4

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.5

3.7

3.5

4.2

4.1

3.9

4.2

3.9

4.2

4.1

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

4.5

3.5

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.7

3.5

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.5

::::::::::::

3.4

3.3

3.4

3.3

::::::::::::

3.7

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.7

::::::::::::

Source: EU-SILC

307

308

Overcrowding rate, (2005-2007)

Overcrowding rate, all households -					Total
	EU-271	EU-25\|	EU-15\|		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT \|	LU	HU
2005	:	15.8	:		3.5	:	32.7	6.7	5.7	44.7	4.8	27.7	6.4	8.8	23.5	2.0	57.4	51.5	9.4	49.3
2006	:	16.0	:		3.5	:	32.8	6.5	6.8	44.7	5.3	27.7	3.9	7.7	23.8	1.7	58.3	52.4	7.4	50.5
2007	17.3	:	:		3.5	50.2	32.0	6.8	3.2	42.8	3.8	27.6	3.5	9.2	23.7	1.5	59.1	51.7	7.5	46.1

	MT \|	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI \|	SE	UK		HR	MK I	TR	IS		LI	NO	CH
2005	3.3	1.5	13.2	50.7	15.9	:	41.2	44.9	6.6	10.1	5.0					7.3		5.6		:
2006	2.7	1.4	15.1	53.4	15.1	:	39.5	43.8	5.9	10.1	5.9					8.3		12.7		:
2007	3.6	1.5	14.8	51.6	15.5	54.4	39.1	41.1	5.7	9.5	5.6					10.2		5.0		:
Overcrow	ding rate (except 1-person household						s) - Total
	EU27 \|	EU25 \|	EU15 \|		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT I	LU	HU
2005	:	16.4	:		3.3	:	33.3	6.0	4.6	46.4	5.0	28.7	6.7	8.0	25.6	2.1	59.3	54.3	9.1	52.6
2006	:	16.7	:		3.2	:	33.6	5.6	5.8	46.9	5.5	28.6	4.1	6.9	25.9	1.7	60.7	55.2	6.9	53.2
2007	18.4	:	:		3.2	52.9	32.9	6.0	2.7	44.9	3.9	28.6	3.7	8.4	25.9	1.4	61.0	54.8	6.9	48.9

	MT \|	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI \|	SE	UK		HR	MK I	TR	IS		LI	NO	CH
2005	3.5	1.2	13.6	52.6	16.7	:	42.4	44.8	3.6	7.2	5.5					6.8		4.4		:
2006	2.9	0.9	15.4	55.6	15.9	:	40.6	44.2	3.0	7.9	6.5					8.4		13.5		:
2007	3.8	1.2	15.2	53.8	16.3	57.4	40.1	42.7	2.8	7.0	6.1					10.3		3.8		:
Overcrow	ding rate - Females
	EU27 \|	EU25 \|	EU15 \|		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT \|	LU	HU
2005	:	15.7	:		3.1	:	33.1	6.2	5.6	45.2	4.9	28.0	6.4	8.3	23.1	1.8	57.9	51.0	9.6	48.1
2006	:	15.8	:		3.5	:	33.3	6.1	6.7	45.2	5.5	27.6	3.7	7.3	23.4	1.6	59.1	51.6	7.5	49.8
2007	17.2	:	:		3.2	50.8	32.6	6.6	3.2	43.4	3.7	27.4	3.5	9.0	23.2	1.3	59.9	51.7	7.3	45.4

	MT \|	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI I	SE	UK		HR	MK \|	TR	IS		LI	NO	CH
2005	3.4	1.6	13.2	50.0	15.3	:	41.7	45.1	6.2	10.2	5.1					7.8		5.8		:
2006	2.8	1.3	14.9	52.7	14.6	:	39.8	43.4	5.3	9.8	5.9					8.8		12.8		:
2007	3.6	1.5	14.2	50.8	14.7	54.2	39.7	40.4	5.4	8.8	5.7					10.5		4.7		:
Overcrow	ding rate - Males
	EU27 \|	EU25 \|	EU15 \|		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT \|	LU	HU
2005	:	15.9	:		4.0	:	32.2	7.1	5.9	44.0	4.7	27.5	6.3	9.2	24.0	2.2	56.8	52.1	9.3	50.5
2006	:	16.1	:		3.5	:	32.3	6.9	7.0	44.0	5.1	27.8	4.1	8.2	24.3	1.8	57.5	53.3	7.4	51.3
2007	17.4	:	:		3.9	49.7	31.4	7.0	3.2	42.2	3.8	27.8	3.6	9.4	24.3	1.6	58.3	51.8	7.6	46.9

	MT \|	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI I	SE	UK		HR	MK \|	TR	IS		LI	NO	CH
2005	3.3	1.4	13.3	51.5	16.5	:	40.7	44.6	6.9	9.9	5.0					6.9		5.4		:
2006	2.7	1.6	15.2	54.2	15.6	:	39.2	44.3	6.5	10.4	5.8					7.7		12.6		:
2007	3.5	1.6	15.4	52.3	16.3	54.8	38.6	41.9	6.0	10.1	5.5					9.9		5.3		:
Overcrow	ding rate - Below 18
	EU27 \|	EU25 \|	EU15 \|		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT \|	LU	HU
2005	:	20.2	:		5.5	:	45.3	9.0	7.2	56.8	5.8	29.4	9.0	11.0	32.0	2.3	70.9	66.6	12.5	66.8
2006	:	20.4	:		5.6	:	45.5	8.2	8.6	57.2	6.9	31.5	6.2	9.7	33.0	1.6	71.7	64.8	9.4	64.3
2007	22.6	:	:		5.4	68.9	46.2	9.4	5.1	54.6	4.1	32.5	5.1	11.8	33.0	1.5	72.1	66.0	9.3	60.4

	MT \|	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI I	SE	UK		HR	MK \|	TR	IS		LI	NO	CH
2005	3.9	1.3	18.4	62.0	23.9	:	48.3	52.5	5.4	10.9	8.9					8.0		7.3		:
2006	2.9	0.9	20.9	64.2	22.1	:	45.7	51.2	4.3	11.2	9.9					10.3		17.3		:
2007	4.1	1.5	20.7	63.0	21.8	70.1	46.4	51.7	3.8	10.0	9.3					13.4		6.2		:
Overcrow	ding rate - Between 18 and 64
	EU27 \|	EU25 \|	EU15 \|		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT \|	LU	HU
2005	:	16.5	:		3.5	:	32.1	7.2	6.3	45.1	5.0	31.1	6.6	9.3	25.3	2.0	57.7	51.9	9.7	49.4
2006	:	16.8	:		3.3	:	32.5	7.2	7.6	45.1	5.3	30.7	4.0	8.2	25.6	1.8	58.6	54.5	7.8	51.1
2007	18.2	:	:		3.6	52.1	31.4	7.4	3.3	43.7	4.1	30.4	3.7	9.9	25.8	1.4	59.5	53.2	7.9	46.2

	MT \|	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI I	SE	UK		HR	MK \|	TR	IS		LI	NO	CH
2005	3.4	1.8	13.6	50.5	16.0	:	43.1	45.7	7.1	10.7	4.7					7.9		5.9		:
2006	2.9	1.9	15.4	53.7	15.4	:	41.4	45.2	6.7	11.5	5.8					8.5		13.4		:
2007	3.8	1.8	15.3	51.8	16.1	55.8	40.7	43.2	6.5	11.0	5.6					10.3		5.7		:
Overcrow	ding rate - 65		years	and more
	EU27 \|	EU25 \|	EU15 I		BE	BG	CZ \|	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY \|	LV	LT \|	LU	HU
2005	:	7.6	:		0.9	:	18.1	1.1	2.0	27.5	1.7	14.1	2.8	3.7	10.1	1.3	40.0	27.0	3.4	26.4
2006	:	7.4	:		1.3	:	17.0	1.0	2.2	27.9	1.5	13.6	1.4	3.2	9.8	1.6	39.9	26.4	2.1	28.4
2007	7.6	:	:		0.8	25.9	16.2	0.5	0.9	26.2	1.0	13.3	1.2	3.3	8.8	1.5	41.5	26.9	2.5	25.2

309

Housing cost overburden rate (2005-2007)

Total

Females

Males

Housing cost overburden rate - Below 18

Housing cost overburden rate - Between 18 and 64

Housing cost overburden rate - 65 years and more

2005

2006

2007

2005

2006

2007

2005

2006

2007

2005

2006

2007

2005

2006

2007

2005

2006

2007

EU-27

12.7

13.4

12.0

12.1

12.4

14.4

EU-25

11.8 s

13.6 s

14.3 s

11.0 s

12.9 s

12.7 s

13.4 s

15.5 s

EU-15

::::::::::::::::::

9.3

9.8

10.1

10.1

10.6

10.7

8.4

8.9

9.4

7.2

8.0

8.7

9.5

9.3

10.2

11.1

13.9

11.6

40.0

41.7

38.1

40.6

38.1

46.1

10.0

10.8

10.3

10.8

11.9

11.5

9.2

9.5

9.1

10.6

11.4

10.8

9.4

9.8

9.2

11.9

14.4

14.8

13.6

16.1

13.4

14.0

16.6

14.5

13.2

15.6

12.2

8.1

8.6

8.2

13.8

16.8

13.9

21.1

24.3

18.9

8.1

7.2

5.2

8.8

8.2

5.6

7.3

6.1

4.8

7.2

6.3

5.0

7.6

6.7

5.0

11.3

10.4

6.5

2.7

2.5

3.1

2.7

2.5

3.3

2.7

2.5

3.0

2.1

1.9

2.3

3.3

3.0

3.8

1.2

1.3

1.4

16.0

17.3

14.6

18.9

15.4

15.1

6.6

6.8

6.9

7.0

6.2

6.7

8.2

8.4

6.8

7.3

3.9

3.5

5.0

5.5

5.6

5.7

6.4

5.9

4.3

4.7

5.3

2.3

3.5

3.4

5.5

6.0

6.3

6.8

6.5

5.8

7.7

8.3

7.0

8.8

7.1

8.3

6.6

3.1

1.9

7.7

3.3

2.3

5.5

3.0

1.5

4.2

3.0

1.5

5.3

3.0

1.7

19.1

3.8

3.3

9.5

10.6

8.2

7.5

8.9

14.4

9.3

6.9

4.9

10.0

8.1

5.3

8.5

5.6

4.3

9.9

5.8

4.5

9.4

6.6

4.8

7.9

9.7

5.8

3.8

4.9

3.9

3.8

5.1

4.0

3.7

4.6

3.9

3.3

5.2

4.2

4.3

5.2

4.2

2.2

2.6

2.3

18.1

12.3

7.3

18.8

12.7

8.0

17.3

11.8

6.4

20.6

14.5

7.1

18.6

12.0

7.0

12.6

10.1

8.6

2.2

1.9

2.6

2.3

2.0

2.8

2.0

1.8

2.4

2.0

3.1

1.9

1.8

2.3

3.9

2.4

3.4

20.4

19.9

18.6

20.8

20.6

19.6

20.0

19.2

17.5

21.2

18.0

18.4

20.1

19.8

17.4

20.7

23.7

24.4

4.5

5.0

5.4

4.8

5.8

6.1

4.0

4.2

4.6

3.1

3.9

4.9

5.0

5.3

5.5

3.7

5.1

5.3

16.5

12.0

10.5

17.3

12.9

11.4

15.7

11.1

9.6

17.1

12.0

10.1

17.0

12.2

10.6

13.4

11.4

10.5

7.4

7.7

7.1

11.3

7.1

4.4

18.4

19.2

17.5

17.7

16.9

26.2

4.7

3.0

5.1

4.8

3.2

5.5

4.5

2.7

4.6

3.5

2.3

4.3

4.5

2.8

4.7

6.6

4.4

7.6

14.9

17.2

18.9

15.6

19.5

20.6

14.0

14.7

17.1

15.9

14.5

19.0

13.6

14.4

16.7

21.6

36.1

30.0

3.5

3.7

4.7

3.7

4.2

5.1

3.4

3.3

4.3

2.4

2.7

3.9

4.1

4.3

4.9

2.9

3.0

5.2

9.7

9.9

7.8

10.7

9.9

8.1

8.5

9.8

7.5

5.5

7.7

4.5

9.1

9.4

7.7

18.3

15.2

12.9

15.3

16.5

16.9

15.2

17.1

17.4

15.3

15.9

16.3

14.4

16.1

17.4

16.1

16.7

17.0

13.1

16.5

15.7

::::::::::::::::::

11.0

13.1

10.1

10.7

12.5

9.4

11.3

13.7

10.9

11.7

16.3

11.0

11.3

12.8

10.2

7.6

6.6

7.6

::::::::::::::::::

4.3

11.0

13.5

4.2

10.7

13.3

4.4

11.3

13.6

4.3

8.3

11.9

4.4

12.7

15.5

3.7

8.2

7.3

::::::::::::::::::

Source: EU-SILC

s Eurostat estimate

Note: Germany data not shown but included in the averages

310

Severe housing deprivation rate

	Total			Females			Males			Severe housing deprivation rate-Below 18			Severe housing deprivation rate, Between 18 and 64			Severe housing deprivation - 65 years and more
	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007	2005 \|	2006 \|	2007
EU27	:	:	6.8	:	:	6.7	:	:	6.8	:	:	9.3	:	:	6.9	:	:	3.3
EU25	6.5	6.4	:	6.4	6.3	:	6.6	6.4	:	8.8	8.4	:	6.6	6.6	:	3.3	3.1	:

BE	1.6	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.0	0.9	2.0	1.2	1.4	2.5	1.9	1.7	1.6	1.1	1.2	0.3	0.2	0.1
BG	:	:	17.8	:	:	17.3	:	:	18.2	:	:	30.6	:	:	17.1	:	:	8.0
CZ	9.6	10.4	8.0	9.6	10.3	7.9	9.6	10.4	8.1	14.8	15.8	12.4	9.2	10.2	7.8	4.7	4.1	2.9
DK	1.1	1.2	1.6	1.1	1.4	1.5	1.0	1.0	1.7	1.5	2.1	2.5	1.2	1.2	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0
DE	1.5	2.2	1.0	1.5	2.2	1.0	1.6	2.2	1.0	2.4	3.0	1.6	1.6	2.5	1.0	0.3	0.4	0.2
EE	16.9	14.9	14.5	17.0	15.1	14.4	16.9	14.7	14.6	23.3	21.5	19.9	16.5	14.1	14.3	10.5	9.9	8.8
IE	1.4	2.3	1.2	1.5	2.3	1.3	1.3	2.3	1.2	2.3	3.0	2.0	1.2	2.4	1.1	0.5	0.2	0.3
EL	8.8	8.7	8.1	8.8	8.6	7.8	8.9	8.9	8.3	8.8	9.0	9.4	9.6	9.4	8.5	6.0	6.1	5.6
ES	2.2	1.6	1.7	2.1	1.5	1.7	2.2	1.8	1.7	3.6	3.3	2.9	2.1	1.5	1.7	0.9	0.5	0.5
FR	2.8	2.6	3.2	2.5	2.3	3.1	3.1	2.9	3.2	4.0	3.4	4.2	2.9	2.8	3.4	1.0	0.5	1.0
IT	7.8	7.6	7.0	7.8	7.5	6.8	7.8	7.7	7.3	10.8	10.5	9.6	8.2	8.0	7.6	3.6	3.7	2.9
CY	1.5	1.3	0.8	1.3	1.1	0.7	1.7	1.4	0.9	1.7	1.3	1.0	1.5	1.3	0.8	1.0	1.2	0.7
LV	30.3	26.8	24.4	30.4	26.6	24.8	30.2	26.9	23.9	40.7	35.5	31.3	29.9	26.3	24.4	19.6	17.4	15.5
LT	27.6	25.7	21.6	27.1	24.8	21.1	28.1	26.6	22.1	37.4	34.0	28.6	27.1	25.9	21.5	15.1	12.9	12.5
LU	2.2	1.7	2.1	2.1	1.4	1.8	2.3	2.0	2.4	2.7	2.2	3.1	2.3	1.7	2.1	0.6	0.5	0.7
HU	22.4	18.8	14.1	21.8	18.4	14.0	23.1	19.3	14.2	31.6	25.4	19.2	21.9	18.2	13.5	13.0	12.2	9.5
MT	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.9	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.3	0.5	0.6
NL	:	:	0.7	:	:	0.7	:	:	0.7	:	:	0.9	:	:	0.8	:	:	0.1
AT	3.2	3.7	3.7	3.2	3.4	3.6	3.1	4.1	3.9	3.8	4.6	5.2	3.4	4.0	3.9	1.7	1.5	1.1
PL	28.0	28.4	25.7	27.4	27.9	25.1	28.7	28.8	26.3	34.5	34.3	31.6	27.5	28.1	25.3	20.5	20.3	18.6
PT	7.4	7.1	7.4	7.2	6.7	7.1	7.7	7.5	7.8	11.3	10.3	11.2	7.3	7.2	7.7	3.6	3.3	2.5
RO	:	:	30.7	:	:	30.3	:	:	31.2	:	:	44.4	:	:	29.4	:	:	17.9
SI	12.1	12.9	12.1	12.3	13.0	12.4	11.9	12.7	11.7	14.9	14.6	14.8	12.5	13.3	12.3	6.9	9.0	7.4
SK	6.1	5.1	4.3	6.2	5.0	4.3	5.9	5.3	4.3	7.6	6.9	6.1	5.8	4.8	4.0	4.9	3.9	3.2
FI	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.5	0.3	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.3
SE	0.9	1.3	1.0	1.0	1.3	0.9	0.9	1.2	1.2	0.9	1.6	1.1	1.1	1.4	1.2	0.3	0.3	0.2
UK	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.8	1.8	3.8	3.1	3.5	1.7	2.0	1.7	0.2	0.2	0.4

HR	::::::::::::::::::
MK	::::::::::::::::::
TR	::::::::::::::::::

IS	1.4	1.4	1.6	1.4	1.6	1.6	1.3	1.2	1.5	1.5	2.0	2.1	1.6	1.4	1.6	0.0	0.2	0.0
LI	::::::::::::::::::
NO	1.4	2.1	1.1	1.5	2.2	1.1	1.3	1.9	1.1	1.9	2.8	1.3	1.5	2.2	1.2	0.0	0.3	0.1
CH	:::::::::::: : : : :

Source: EU-SILC

311

15.

Earnings of Women and Men

In all EU-27 Member States, the average gross hourly earnings of women in 2007 were estimated at 17.6% less than the gross hourly earnings of men². The smallest differences are found in Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Romania and Belgium (less than 10%), the biggest in Estonia, Czech Republic and Austria (more than 25%). To reduce gender pay differences both direct pay-related discrimination and indirect discrimination related to labour market participation, occupational choice and career progression have to be addressed.

Source: Eurostat - GPG based on the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES)

Sizeable pay differences between men and women persist in Europe

Gender pay gap in unadjusted form (%), 2007

(Difference between men's and women's average gross hourly earnings as a percentage of men's average gross hourly earnings. The population consists of all paid employees) in enterprises with 10

employees and mor e in economi c activities of NACE Rev. 1.1 aggregate C to O (excluding L).

EU-27 |

EA-16 |

BG |

CZ |

DK |

EE |

CY |

LV |

LT |

17.6

17.5

9.1

12.4

23.6

17.7

23.0

30.3

17.1

21.5

17.1

16.9

5.1

23.1

15.4

20.0

12.5

16.3

5.2

RO |

SK |

FI I

MK |

TR |

23.6

25.5

7.5

8.3

12.7

8.3

23.6

20.0

17.9

21.1

15.7

18.7

Notes:

EU-27, EA-16 (provisional)

EE, EL, ES, IT and MT (2006 data)

Source: Eurostat - GPG based on the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES)

According to the GPG figures calculated on the basis of the methodology of the Structure of Earnings Surveys (SES) for 2006 and on SES comparable national data for the reference year 2007, the gender pay gap – difference in average gross hourly earnings as a percentage of men’s average gross hourly earnings – varied between 4 % and 30 %. Women’s earnings remain on average below those of men in all EU countries.

The Gender Pay Gap (GPG) is defined as the difference in average gross hourly earnings as a percentage of men’s

average gross hourly earnings.

Source: From reference year 2006 onwards, the new GPG data are based on the methodology of the Structure of

Earnings Survey (Reg.: 530/1999) carried out with a four-yearly periodicity. The most recent available reference years

are 2002 and 2006 and Eurostat computed the GPG for these years on this basis. For the intermediate years (2007

onwards) countries provide Eurostat with estimates benchmarked on the SES results.

According to the new methodology the coverage is defined as follows:

-

target population: all employees, there are no restrictions for age and hours worked.
-

economic activity according to NACE Rev. 1.1. Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community: only for the aggregate sections C to O (excluding L); and if available, also for sections C to O and aggregate C to O.
-

size of enterprises: 10 employees or more.

Gross hourly earnings shall include paid overtime and exclude non-regular payments. Also, part-time employees shall be included.

312

The pay differences are related both to differences in the personal and job characteristics of men and women in employment and to differences in the remuneration of these characteristics

45.0-. 40.0-35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0

Gender pay gap in unadjusted form in % , 2007 NACE Rev.1.1 C to K and G

EU-27 EA-16 BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE GR ES FR IT CY

LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK TR NO CH

□ c_to_k □ g

Notes: Reference year (sectors C-F): 2000 ES; 2003 EL; 2004 PL; 2005 EE, IE, LT (full-time units), NL, SI, HR; 2006 BE, CZ,

DE, FR, CY, AT, PT and CH; (sector G): 2003 EL; 2004 PL; 2005 IE, NL, EE, LT (full-time units), NL, SI, HR; 2006 BE, CZ, DE,

FR, CY, AT, PT and CH.

The bars are in the order of the bars of the previous graph in order make it easy to compare the two graphs.

Source: Eurostat, statistics on annual gross earnings (Gentlemen's agreement)

Women and men in employment differ significantly as regards their personal and job characteristics, including labour market participation, employment, earnings, the sector and occupational employment structures as well as job status, job type and career progression. The differences in pay are particularly high among older workers, the high-skilled and those with supervisory or managerial job status. They also vary between different sectors of activity and different occupations. The GPG 2007 for the broad sector of activity Industry and merchant services from the one hand and its sub part Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of motor vehicles and personal & household goods are presented in the graph above. Gender pay gaps vary between 13 % in Bulgaria and 31 % in Estonia for Industry and merchant services, which includes Industry, which is a strongly male-dominated sector. However, they vary between 12 % in Bulgaria and 41 % in the Estonia for Wholesale and retail trade, which is a sector slightly more women-oriented sector. In most countries the gender pay gaps are bigger in Wholesale and retail trade etc. than in the total of Industry and merchant services.

Women have much less managerial responsibility than men in the Member States for which data are available from the European Labour Force Survey. In the EU-25 Member States, 32 % of managers were women in 2005, a slight increase since 2000. The highest percentages of women among managers are found in Lithuania and Latvia, while the lowest percentages are in Malta and Cyprus.

Furthermore women tend to be in non-standard employment such as fixed-term and part-time work. In the EU-27, 31.1 % of women were working part-time in 2008, against 7.9 % of men. Compared to 2003, the share of parttime employment rose by 2.0 percentage points for women and 1.1 percentage points for men. The share of female part-timers exceeded 30 % in Denmark, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg, 40 % in Belgium, Germany Austria, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and even reached 75 % in the Netherlands. Conversely, the share of part-timers among female workers was very low in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic Latvia and Lithuania (less than 10%). Men are thus not only more concentrated in higher paid sectors and occupations, but within these sectors and occupations they are also more likely than women to hold managerial responsibilities and if they do so the earnings are relatively higher.

Furthermore, while both men and women have lower earnings in female-dominated sectors and occupations, this wage penalty is more pronounced for women. Finally, independently of the initial pay differential, the gender pay gap widens considerably throughout working life.

Both the differences in the composition of the male and female workforce and differences in the remuneration of jobs performed by men and women contribute to the overall gender pay gap. As shown in Employment in Europe 2005 and 2007, differences in the male and female workforce composition related to the sector of employment and the occupational category contribute significantly to the gender pay gap. Since such compositional differences can stem from forms of indirect discrimination such as traditions and social norms and constraints on choices related to education, labour market participation, occupation and career progression, both types of gender differences and both forms of potential discrimination — direct pay-related ones and indirect ones related to the above choices – have to be addressed to reduce the differences in pay.

313

Policy context

Treaty: The big gender differences which persist in European labour markets need to be tackled to promote economic growth, employment and social cohesion.

The EC Treaty (Article 141) states that "Each Member State shall ensure that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value is applied. For the purpose of this Article, ‘pay’ means the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which the worker receives directly or indirectly, in respect of his employment, from his employer. Equal pay without discrimination based on sex means:

(a) that pay for the same work at piece rates shall be calculated on the basis of the same unit of measurement;

(b) that pay for work at time rates shall be the same for the same job."

Directives: Adopted the on 10 February 1975, Council Directive 75/117/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women was the first "gender equality directive". It establishes the principle of equal pay which means, for the same work or for work to which equal value is attributed, the elimination of all discrimination on grounds of sex with regard to all aspects and conditions of remuneration. It is therefore the first legal text referring to work of equal value.

The main legal text on the principle of equal treatment between women and men is currently Directive 2006/54/EC (the recast Directive), which consolidates within a single text seven previous Directives, in particular Directive 75/117/EC.

Employment guidelines: According to the 2000 Employment Guidelines (No.19): “They (Member States) will initiate positive steps to promote equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and to diminish differentials in incomes between women and men.” The 2001 Employment Guidelines further specified that measures would be needed to address gender differences in pay in both the private and public sectors and that the impact of policies on gender differences in pay should be identified and addressed. The 2002 Employment Guidelines advocated both the settings of targets for tackling the pay gap and the inclusion in the strategy, inter alia, of a review of job classification and pay systems to eliminate gender bias, improving statistical and monitoring systems, and awareness-raising and transparency as regards differences in pay. Under the 2003 Employment Guidelines, policies were to be aimed at achieving by 2010 a substantial reduction in the gender pay gap in each Member State, through a multi-faceted approach addressing the underlying factors, including sectoral and occupational segregation, education and training. The 2005 Employment Guidelines (No 18) called for a life-cycle approach to work, through resolute action to increase female participation and reduce gender gaps in employment, unemployment and pay; they sought also (No 22) to ensure employment-friendly labour cost developments and wage-setting mechanisms, by encouraging social partners within their own areas of responsibility to set the right framework for wage bargaining in order to reflect productivity and labour market challenges at all relevant levels and to avoid gender pay gaps. Finally, the 2008-2010 Employment Guidelines keep the same content as the 2005 ones, adding that the gender pay gap should be reduced and that particular attention should be given both to the low level of wages in professions and sectors which tend to be dominated by women and to the reasons for reduced earnings in professions and sectors.

2007 Communication "Tackling the pay gap between women and men": In line with the the Roadmap for Equality between women and men, the Commission presented in 2007 a Communication on how to tackle the gender pay gap. The document examines the causes of the gender pay gap and puts forward possible ways of reducing it:

•

Ensuring better application of existing legislation (analysing how current laws could be adapted and raising awareness);
•

Fighting the pay gap as an integral part of Member States' employment policies (exploiting full potential of EU funding, in particular the European Social Fund);
•

Promoting equal pay among employers, especially through social responsibility;
•

Supporting exchange of good practices across the EU and involving the social partners.

The Employment Committee Report on Indicators of Quality in Work contains indicators on earnings in the form of transition tables.

Methodological notes

From reference year 2006 onwards, the new GPG (Gender Pay Gap) in unadjusted form is based on the methodology of the SES (Structure of Earnings Survey according to Regulation (EC) 530/1999). The SES is carried out with a four-yearly periodicity. The most recent available reference years for the SES are 2002 and 2006. Eurostat computed the GPG for these years on this basis. For the intermediate years (2007 onwards) countries provide to Eurostat with GPG estimates benchmarked on the SES results.

314

The GPG in unadjusted form represents the difference between average gross hourly earnings of male paid employees and of female paid employees as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of male paid employees.

The GPG is calculated using the arithmetic mean.

According to the new methodology the coverage is defined as follows:

•

target population: all employees, there are no restrictions for age and hours worked;
•

economic activity according to NACE Rev. 1.1. (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community): aggregate value for sections C to O (excluding L); detailed sections C to O and aggregate C to O values are optional;
•

size of enterprises: 10 employees or more.

Gross hourly earnings include paid overtime and exclude non-regular payments. Also, part-time employees are included.

As regards the "old" GPG figures previously published by Eurostat, countries calculated results using different data sources (administrative file, Labour Force Survey, EU-SILC – European survey about income and living conditions – or specific national surveys) involving distinct definitions, different coverage, sample size problems, etc.. All these elements hampered the GPG indicator's data quality and its comparability between Member States (this is why it was agreed to switch to an EU-level comparable common data source: the SES).

Harmonised average gross annual earnings data relate to enterprises with 10 or more employees, except for HU – enterprises employing more than 4 employees ES – enterprises employing more than 5 employees BE, LU, UK, CZ, CY and SK – enterprises from all size groups.

All data relate to full-time employees except for CZ, EE, LV and SI for which data relate to full-time equivalents. Average annual gross earnings data are provided once a year by Member States to Eurostat on a voluntary basis (Gentlemen's agreement).

Eurostat quarterly labour force data (QLFD) consist of employment by economic activity and status in employment, further broken down by sex and some job characteristics. They are based on the EU Labour Force Survey (EU LFS) and on European System of National Accounts (ESA 95).

Quarterly LFS data have been available since the first quarter of 2003 in all EU countries, except Germany (quarterly estimates provided until German LFS became quarterly from 2005) and Luxembourg. Data for France refer to metropolitan France (excluding overseas departments).

The classification by part-time or full-time job depends on a direct question in the LFS, except for the Netherlands where it depends on a threshold on the basis of the number of hours usually worked.

Further reading:

•

The life of women and men in Europe. A statistical portrait, edition 2008, Eurostat; Theme: Population and social conditions; Collection: Statistical books, ISBN 978-92-79-07069-3, Cat. No. KS-80-07-135-EN-N

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_prod uct_code=KS-80-07-135

•

List of publications about Gender Equality at the Commission's DG Employment and Social affairs website: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/gender_equality/publications_en.cfm
•

Link to the European annual Reports on Equality between Women and Men in the European Union: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/gender_mainstreaming/activity_reports_en.html
•

Changing European Gender Relations: Gender Equality Policy Concerning Employment and the Labour Market, Policy Review Series n°6, 2007
•

“Employment in Europe 2007”, European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs DG, October 2007
•

(COM(2007) 424 final) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Tackling the pay gap between women and men, July 2007

315

Link to communication: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/news/2007/jul/genderpaygap_en.pdf

Gender equality policy:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=418&langId=enhttp://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equal

ity

Gender pay gap: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=681&langId=en

Study on 'The gender pay gap: origins and policy responses': http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/publications/2006/ke7606200_en.pdf

European Year of Equal Opportunities for All: http://equality2007.europa.eu

Fourth European Working conditions survey: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/surveys/EWCS2005/index.htm

The gender pay gap — Origins and policy responses — A comparative review of 30 European countries, July 2006, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Unit G.1

Gender Equality: a step ahead — A Roadmap for the future, Report from the conference organised by the European Commission on 4 and 5 May 2006, July 2006, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit G.1

A Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006-2010, April 2006, European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Unit G.1

‘Making work pay’ debates from a gender perspective — A comparative review of some recent policy reforms in thirty European countries, September 2005, European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Unit G.1

“Employment in Europe 2005”, European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs DG, September 2005

25th CEIES seminar: Gender statistics — Occupational segregation: extent, causes and consequences, 2004 edition, Stockholm, Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 June 2004, EUROSTAT, ISSN 1725-1338

“Employment in Europe 2003”, European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs DG, September 2003

Working paper of the Commission services on gender pay gaps in European labour markets (SEC(2003)937)

“Employment in Europe 2002", section "Assessing gender pay gaps in the EU", September 2002. European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs DG

Panorama of the European Union (Population and social conditions): “The life of women and men in Europe. A statistical portrait”. Eurostat 2002

OECD Employment Outlook 2002 — Chapter 2 "Women at Work: Who are They and How are They Faring?"

Statistics in Focus (Population and social conditions): “Earnings of men and women in the EU: the gap narrowing but only slowly”, No. 5/2001 and “Women’s earnings in the E.U: 28 % less than men’s”, No. 6/1999. Eurostat

European Parliament: — Resolution and report on equal pay for work of equal value

“Industrial Relations in Europe", 2000. European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs DG

Indicators on gender pay equality: The Belgian presidency’s report, 2001

"The adjusted gender pay gap: a critical appraisal of the standard decomposition techniques". Network of experts on employment and equality between women and men, DG Employment and Social Affairs

The gender pay gap and the gender mainstreaming pay policy: synthesis report of the gender pay equality in EU Member States. Network of experts on employment and equality between women and men, DG Employment and Social Affairs

Report on Equality between Women and Men in the European Union, 2005, (COM(2005)44 final)

316

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16.

Life and Health Expectancies

Life expectancy in the EU-27 was 82.0 years for women and 75.8 for men in 2006. In all 27 Member States, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the four EFTA countries women live longer than men.

Life expectancy at birth, 2007

(The mean number of years that a newborn child is expected to live if subjected throughout her/his life to the mortality conditions (age specific probabilities of dying) of the year of her/his birth.)

	EU-27	EA-16	BE	BG	CZ	DK	DE	EE	IE	EL	ES	FR	IT	CY	LV	LT	LU	HU	MT
Females	820	83.3	826	76.7	80.2	80 6	827	78.8	82.1	81.8	84.3	84.8	84.2	822	76.5	77.2	82.2	77.8	822
Males	75.8	77.3	77.1	69.5	73.8	762	77.4	67.2	77.4	77.1	77.8	77.6	78.5	77.9	65.8	64.9	76.7	69.4	77.5

	NL	AT	PL	PT	RO	SI	SK	FI	SE	UK		HR	MK	TR		IS	LI	NO	CH
Females	825	83.1	79.8	82.2	76. 9	820	78.4	83.1	83.1	81.8		79.3	75.9	:		83.4	83.6	82.9	84.4
Males	78.1	77.4	71.0	75.9	69.7	747	70.6	76.0	79.0	77.6		723	71.8	:		79.6	79.1	78.3	79.5

Note: EU-27, EA-16, IT:2006

:

Data not available

Source: Eurostat - Demographic statistics

Women can expect to live 6.2 years longer than men in the EU-27

From 1960 to 2006, life expectancy of women and men has risen quite steadily in almost all EU countries³. Throughout the EU-27, women live longer than men. In 2006, the life expectancy of women in the EU-27 was 82.0 years while for men it was 75.8 years, which makes a difference of 6.2 years. Across the EU-27, considerable differences can be observed: life expectancy at birth varies for men from about 65 years in Lithuania and Latvia to about 79 years in Italy and Sweden, and for women from around 76 years in Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania to about 84 years in Spain, France and Italy. The gender gap can go from about 4 years in Cyprus, Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom to about 11 or 12 years in the Baltic States.

Differences in life expectancy disability-free less distinct between women and men

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Health expectancies are a group of health indicators combining data on mortality and disability / morbidity. The structural indicator Healthy Life Years (HLY) measures the number of years that a person of a specific age is expected to live in good health i.e. without any severe or moderate limitation in functioning because of health problems / without any disability. The general increase in life expectancy has been accompanied by an increase also in healthy life years. There is no clear-cut evidence of a reduction in the gap between life expectancy and healthy life years. The number of healthy life years is in general also greater for women than for men although the gender gap is either non-existent or reversed in a number of countries (Denmark, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden). The highest differences are noticed in Estonia and Lithuania (5.1 years, respectively 4.3 years more for women). However, these differences are smaller than for life expectancy.

Some EU Member States that experienced the economic transition from a planned to a market economy (e.g. BG, LT, RO and LV) saw a temporary drop in life expectancy from 1986 to 1996 though they have since shown significant recovery.

321

Circulatory (notably cardiovascular) diseases and cancer remained the major causes of death Error! Not a valid link.

Mortality values for the EU-27 in 2007 show that diseases of the circulatory system remain the major cause of death, with cardiovascular diseases responsible for 40 % of all deaths according to sex and age. The second most frequent cause of death is cancer (25.3 %), being higher in men (229 000 cases per year) than in women (131 000). For 60-64 year olds, cancer represents 43.9 % of all causes of death. Diseases of the respiratory system emerge as the third most relevant cause of death (7.8 %). External causes account for 4.9 % of all deaths and are most relevant for younger people, particularly for men aged between 20 and 24, corresponding to 61.4 % of deaths in that age group. Diseases of the digestive system are more frequent for the middle age group (40-59 years).

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Between 1997 and 2007, the density of physicians, dentists and nurses (expressed per 100 000 inhabitants) increased in almost all Member States but the figures and staff mix across Europe vary. For practising physicians, they ranged from around 400 per 100 000 inhabitants in Belgium and Austria to fewer than 250 in Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. For practising dentists as many as 92 per 100 000 inhabitants were reported for Cyprus but only 33 per 100 000 inhabitants for Poland. For practising nursing professionals, which covers midwives and nurses, the range is from fewer than 600 per 100 000 inhabitants for Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary and Poland to around 1 500 per 100 000 inhabitants for Denmark and Luxembourg. Density of physicians increased the most in Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovakia while Hungary, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia reported an overall slight decrease of their density rates (with a maximum of 9 % for Hungary and Italy).

Eight Member States discharged 20 000 or more in-patients per 100 000 population in 2007

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Source: Eurostat - Health and safety statistics.

The number of hospital discharges of in-patients ranged from fewer than 8 000 in Cyprus and Malta to 20 000 or more in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Austria and Romania. These differences may partly reflect the differences in organisation of healthcare services.

Going by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the highest share of discharges was reported for diseases of the circulatory system (around 14 % of discharges for the countries with available data by diagnosis, the number of discharges for these diseases per 100 000 ranging from fewer than 800 in Cyprus and Malta to 4 485 in Lithuania), followed by discharges for diseases of the digestive system (over 10 % of all discharges in Belgium, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal, around 1 600 in-patients suffering from digestive diseases are discharged each year). Cancers and injuries also featured prominently, each accounting for around 9 % of all hospital discharges.

The number of hospital beds further decreases Error! Not a valid link.

For many years the total number of hospital beds has been decreasing in the EU. For the EU-27, it dropped by 21 % between 1996 and 2006. With up to 400 beds per 100 000 inhabitants, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal and the United Kingdom reported the lowest number of beds per 100 000 in the EU-27. Germany reported the highest rate with 829 hospital beds per 100 000 inhabitants, followed by Lithuania (801). These figures refer to all available beds in both public and private hospitals. A considerable part of the observed reduction in hospital beds is likely to have been caused by a drop in the length of hospital stay and an increase in day-case surgery as observed throughout the EU. Another reason is the financial constraints which arose during the 1990s and which have led to a rationalisation of healthcare services everywhere and a search for efficiency in the hospital sector. The increased demand for healthcare for elderly people, many of whom suffer from chronic disability and diseases, has in most cases been met by transferring beds for acute or psychiatric care to long-term care, while total numbers are still declining.

322

Policy context

Former EC Treaty (Title XIII Public Health, Article 152) – in force until 30 November 2009 – states that "Community action, which shall complement national policies, shall be directed towards improving public health, preventing human illness and diseases, and obviating sources of danger to human health. Such action shall cover the fight against the major health scourges, by promoting research into their causes, their transmission and their prevention, as well as health information and education."

In October 2007 the Commission adopted a White Paper entitled “Together for Health: A Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013”, the so called Health Strategy. This White Paper establishes a broad cross-policy framework and aims to pursue the following objectives: Fostering good health in an ageing Europe, protecting citizens from health threats and supporting dynamic health systems and new technologies. In addition, it puts forward principles such as solidarity, investment in health, mainstreaming health in all policies, and strengthening the EU's voice in global health matters.

In 2008 the Commission took various steps towards achieving these objectives: A proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards of quality and safety of human organs intended for transplantation, a Green Paper on the EU health workforce, a Communication and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections, a Communication and Council Recommendation on rare diseases and a proposal for a Directive on patient rights in cross-border healthcare (COM(2008) 414), with an accompanying Communication, (COM(2008) 415). The new Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health (2008-2013) is the main financial instrument for implementing the strategy. The Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions have all adopted conclusions on the Health Strategy White Paper, welcoming its objectives and principles and emphasising e.g. health in all policies, prevention, threats, health investment and inequalities. In June 2008, the Council adopted a second round of conclusions on the Health Strategy, setting up a cooperation mechanism with the Commission for implementation of the strategy, and a the first meeting was held in December 2008. In its Communication on Solidarity in health: Reducing health inequalities in the EU (COM(2009) 567/4), the Commission announced a series of actions to develop the contribution of EU policies and to help Member States and other actors tackle the gaps in health which exist between and within countries in the EU.

In October 2004 the Council endorsed the application of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) for Social Inclusion and Social Protection also to the healthcare and long-term care field. Member States agreed that the OMC could usefully be applied to this field to stimulate policy development, highlight common challenges and facilitate mutual learning (COM (2004) 304). In 2005 Member States submitted Preliminary National Policy Statements on Health Care and Long-term Care, which were analysed in a 2005 Memorandum of the Social Protection Committee and which helped in defining the common objectives in the field of healthcare and long-term care. In 2006, when the existing OMC in the fields of social inclusion and pensions and the new process of cooperation in the field of health and long-term care were brought together under common objectives, the first reports on national healthcare and long-term care strategies were submitted and analysed in the 2007 Joint Report. In 2008 an agreement on a set of common indicators on healthcare and long-term care was reached. Life expectancy and healthy life years have been agreed as common indicators, as are numbers of beds and staff per 100 000 inhabitants and in-patient discharge rates. Where relevant, indicators are to be reported by gender, age and socio-economic status. The 2008 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion examines in more depth the issue of inequalities in health outcomes across and within countries between population groups and their relation to a set of determinants including access to health care. In April 2008, a Memorandum of the Social Protection Committee looked at evolving long-term care needs. On the work of the OMC see also policy context in portraits 10-13 above.

Methodological notes

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a person would live if age-specific mortality rates observed for a certain calendar year or period were to continue. Life expectancy disability-free (or Healthy Life Years) is calculated by the Sullivan method and uses mortality data from demographic statistics and prevalence figures of persons not being limited in functioning/disability. For the time period 1995-2001, prevalence figures from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) were used. For 2002 and 2003 the prevalence was estimated on the basis of the trend of the 1995-2001 ECHP data. From 2004 onwards, the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) survey is used for calculating the prevalence. The way the question providing the disability prevalence data was implemented by the EU Member States in EU-SILC hampers cross-country comparisons for the data up to 2008. Therefore, pre- 2008, SILC health data should be used with caution and only the evolution in time for each country should be followed.

The change of the data source for calculating the prevalence (the SILC question used for calculating the prevalence is not similar to the ECHP one) created a break in series in 2004. To be able to present calculations at birth (ECHP and SILC data covering population 16 years and over), Eurostat has, for all countries and for both genders, considered that the disability rate between the ages 0 and 14 is half of the prevalence in the next age group (16-19).

323

Data on perceived health are based on a self-evaluation question addressed to persons interviewed in the SILC survey. For the total population (particularly aged 65 and over), the percentages on (very) bad health may be somewhat higher due to the fact that a significant number of people suffering major health problems live in homes or institutions for long-term nursing care which are not covered by the surveys.

Practising physicians, dentists and nursing professionals provide services directly to patients. Data on practising healthcare professionals are best used to describe the availability of healthcare human resources, because all persons included here immediately produce for the final demand. However, not all countries can provide data for practising health care professionals. Please note that the 'professionally active' or 'licensed to practise' data shown for a number of countries are not fully comparable because different concepts are used.

Total hospital beds are all hospital beds which are regularly maintained and staffed and immediately available for the care of admitted patients. Data on the number of beds reported to Eurostat are normally given as an annual average of beds in use during the year of reporting or according to concepts of registration or budgetary or planned approval.

A hospital discharge is the formal release of a patient from a hospital after a procedure or course of treatment. Data shown refer to hospital in-patients and to the main diagnosis.

Causes of death (COD) data refer to the underlying cause which – according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – is "the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury". COD data are derived from death certificates. The medical certification of death is an obligation in all Member States.

Further reading

•

"Health statistics: Key data on Health 2002", 2002 edition. Eurostat
•

"Health in Europe", data 1998-2003, pocketbook, 2005 edition. Eurostat
•

Health statistics – Atlas on mortality in the European Union ", 2009 edition. Eurostat
•

" Who dies of what in Europe before the age of 65" – 2009 Statistics in focus
•

" Perception of health and access to health care in the EU-25 in 2007 - Issue number 24/2009
•

"European social statistics – Population statistics", 2006 edition. Eurostat
•

Eurostat Population and social conditions statistics
•

Causes of death in the EU- 2006 Statistics in focus (data 2003)
•

OECD Health data 2008
•

WHO Health For All Database
•

Follow-up to the high level reflection process on patient mobility and healthcare developments in the European Union – COM (2004) 301
•

"Modernising social protection for the development of high-quality, accessible and sustainable health care and long-term care: support for the national strategies using the ‘open method of coordination" – COM (2004) 304
•

"Review of the 2005 Preliminary National Policy Statements on Health Care and Long-term Care", Memorandum of the Social Protection Committee, November 2005
•

Decision 1350/2007 establishing a second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-2013)

324

White paper “Together for health: a strategic approach for the EU 2008-2013” – COM (2007) 630

“Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007”, 2007, European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

“Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008”, 2008, European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

Review of the Long-term care part of the National Reports on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006-2008 and updates 2007, Memorandum of the Social Protection Committee, April 2008

"Monitoring progress towards the objectives of the European Strategy for Social Protection and Social Inclusion", Commission Staff Working Document, Brussels, 6.10.2008, SEC(2008)

Solidarity in health: Reducing health inequalities in the EU (COM(2009) 567/4) http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/socio_economics/documents/com2009_en.pdf

325

Life expectancy at birth, by sex

(The mean numbe r of years that a newborn child is expected to live if subjected throughout her/his life to the current mortality conditions (age specific probabilities of dying))

	1960		1970		1980		1990		2000		2001		2002		2003		2004		2005		2006		2007
	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M

EU27	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	80.9	74.5	80.8	74.6	81.5	75.2	81.5	75.4	82.0	75.8	:	:
EA16	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	81.8	75.4	821	75.7	82.1	75.9	81.9	75.9	82.7	76.7	82.7	76.8	83.3	77.3	:	:

BE	72.8	66.8	74.2	67.9	76.7	69.9	79.5	72.7	81.0	74.6	81.2	74.9	81.2	75.1	81.1	75.3	81.8	76.0	81.9	76.2	82.3	76.6	82.6	77.1
BG	71.1	67.5	73.5	69.1	73.9	68.4	74.7	68.0	75.0	68.4	75.4	68.6	75.5	68.8	75.9	68.9	76.2	69.0	76.2	69.0	76.3	69.2	76.7	69.5
CZ	73.5	67.8	73.1	66.1	74.0	66.9	75.5	67.6	78.5	71.7	78.6	72.1	78.7	72.1	78.6	720	79.2	72.6	79.2	72.9	79.9	73.5	80.2	73.8
DK	:	:	:	:	77.3	71.2	77.8	72.0	79.2	74.5	79.3	74.7	79.4	74.8	79.8	75.0	80.2	75.4	80.5	76.0	80.7	76.1	80.6	76.2
DE	71.7	66.5	73.6	67.5	76.2	69.6	78.5	72.0	81.2	75.1	81.4	75.6	81.3	75.7	81.3	75.8	81.9	76.5	82.0	76.7	82.4	77.2	82.7	77.4
EE	:	:	:	:	:	:	74.9	64.7	76.2	65.2	76.4	64.8	77.0	65.2	77.1	66.1	77.8	66.4	78.1	67.3	78.6	67.4	78.8	67.2
IE	:	:	:	:	:	:	77.7	72.1	79.2	74.0	79.9	74.5	80.5	75.2	80.8	75.9	81.4	76.4	81.8	77.3	82.2	77.4	82.1	77.4
EL	:	:	76.0	71.6	77.5	73.0	79.5	74.7	80.6	75.5	81.0	75.9	81.1	76.2	81.2	76.5	81.3	76.6	81.6	76.8	81.9	77.2	81.8	77.1
ES	:	:	:	:	78.4	723	80.6	73.4	82.9	75.8	83.2	76.2	83.2	76.3	83.0	76.3	83.7	76.9	83.7	77.0	84.4	77.7	84.3	77.8
FR	:	:	:	:	:	:	81.2	72.8	83.0	75.3	83.0	75.5	83.0	75.7	82.7	75.8	83.8	76.7	83.7	76.7	84.4	77.3	84.8	77.6
IT	:	:	:	:	:	:	80.3	73.8	82.8	76.9	83.1	77.1	83.2	77.4	828	77.1	83.8	77.9	83.6	78.0	84.2	78.5	:	:
CY	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	80.1	75.4	81.4	76.6	81.0	76.4	81.2	76.9	81.9	76.6	80.9	76.8	82.2	78.4	82.2	77.9
LV	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	76.0	64.7	75.8	65.6	76.2	65.9	76.5	65.4	76.3	65.4	76.5	65.8
LT	:	:	75.0	66.8	75.4	65.4	76.3	66.4	77.5	66.8	77.6	65.9	77.5	66.2	77.8	66.4	77.7	66.3	77.3	65.3	77.0	65.3	77.2	64.9
LU	:	:	:	:	75.6	70.0	78.7	72.4	81.3	74.6	80.7	75.1	81.5	74.6	80.8	74.8	824	76.0	82.3	76.7	81.9	76.8	82.2	76.7
HU	70.2	65.9	72.1	66.3	72.8	65.5	73.8	65.2	76.2	67.5	76.7	68.2	76.7	68.3	76.7	68.4	77.2	68.7	77.2	68.7	77.8	69.2	77.8	69.4
MT	:	:	:	:	72.8	68.0	:	:	80.3	76.2	81.2	76.6	81.3	76.3	80.8	76.4	81.2	77.4	81.4	77.2	81.9	77.0	82.2	77.5
NL	:	:	:	:	:	:	80.2	73.8	80.7	75.6	80.8	75.8	80.7	76.0	81.0	76.3	81.5	76.9	81.7	77.2	82.0	77.7	82.5	78.1
AT	:	:	73.5	66.5	76.1	69.0	79.0	72.3	81.2	75.2	81.7	75.7	81.7	75.8	81.5	75.9	821	76.4	82.3	76.7	82.8	77.2	83.1	77.4
PL	:	:	:	:	:	:	75.3	66.3	78.0	69.6	78.4	70.0	78.8	70.3	78.8	70.5	79.2	70.6	79.3	70.8	79.7	70.9	79.8	71.0
PT	66.7	61.1	69.7	63.6	74.9	67.9	77.5	70.6	80.2	73.2	80.5	73.5	80.6	73.8	80.6	74.2	81.5	75.0	81.3	74.9	82.3	75.5	82.2	75.9
RO	:	:	70.4	65.9	71.9	66.6	73.1	66.7	74.8	67.7	74.9	67.5	74.7	67.4	75.0	67.7	75.5	68.2	75.7	68.7	76.2	69.2	76.9	69.7
SI	:	:	:	:	:	:	77.8	69.8	79.9	72.2	80.4	72.3	80.5	72.6	80.3	72.5	80.8	73.5	80.9	73.9	82.0	74.5	82.0	74.7
SK	72.7	67.9	73.1	66.8	74.4	66.7	75.7	66.7	77.5	69.2	77.7	69.5	77.7	69.8	77.7	69.8	78.0	70.3	78.1	70.2	78.4	70.4	78.4	70.6
FI	:	:	:	:	78.0	69.2	79.0	71.0	81.2	74.2	81.7	74.6	81.6	74.9	81.9	75.1	825	75.4	82.5	75.6	83.1	75.9	83.1	76.0
SE	:	:	77.3	72.3	79.0	728	80.5	74.8	82.0	77.4	822	77.6	82.1	77.7	825	78.0	828	78.4	82.9	78.5	83.1	78.8	83.1	79.0
UK	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	80.3	75.5	80.5	75.8	80.6	76.0	80.5	76.2	81.0	76.8	81.2	77.1	81.7	77.3	81.8	77.6

HR	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	78.3	71.2	78.1	71.1	78.8	71.9	78.8	71.8	79.3	72.5	79.3	723
MK	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	75.2	70.8	76.1	70.9	75.6	70.6	75.7	70.9	75.8	71.5	75.9	71.6	76.2	71.7	75.9	71.8
TR	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:

IS	:	:	77.3	70.7	80.4	73.5	80.7	75.5	81.6	77.8	83.2	78.3	82.5	78.6	825	79.5	83.2	78.9	83.5	79.6	82.9	79.5	83.4	79.6
LI	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	79.9	73.9	824	76.3	82.3	77.1	81.6	78.4	85.1	78.6	84.1	77.4	83.1	78.9	83.6	79.1
NO	76.0	71.6	77.5	71.2	79.3	724	79.9	73.4	81.5	76.0	81.6	76.2	81.6	76.4	821	77.1	82.5	77.6	82.7	77.8	82.9	78.2	82.9	78.3
CH	74.1	68.7	76.2	70.0	79.0	723	80.9	74.0	82.8	77.0	83.2	77.5	83.2	77.9	83.2	78.0	83.8	78.6	84.0	78.7	84.2	79.2	84.4	79.5

Note: Data for France refer to metropolitan France until 1997 and to France including overseas departments starting from 1998.

:

Data not available

Source: Eurostat - Demographic statistics

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17.

Accidents and Work-related Health Problems

In 2006, around 3 % of workers in the EU-15 were victims of working accidents resulting in more than three days' absence. The number of accidents at work causing more than three days' absence decreased in 2006 by 24 % compared to 1998 (the value of the index 1998 = 100 was 76 in 2006) in the EU-27 and by 26 % in the EU-15. In 2006, 5 785 lives were lost as a result of accidents at work in the EU-27

Road transport fatalities decreased by 30 % from 1998 to 2007 in the EU-27, but there were still more than 50 000 deaths on EU-27 roads recorded in 2007. During the ten-year period 1998-2007 over 520 000 people lost their lives in road accidents in the EU-27.

Working accidents more frequent among younger and low seniority workers Error! Not a valid link.

In 2006, around 4 million accidents at work —resulting in more than three days’ absence — were recorded in the 15 old Member States of the EU. This represents estimated rates of 3 100 accidents at work per 100 000 employed people, or put another way, 5.1 % of all workers suffered an accident at work during the year (3 % for accidents with an absence of more than three days). There was a substantial drop in this rate (accidents resulting in more than three days’ absence) of 24 % between 1998 and 2006 (index = 76 in 2006 and 100 in 1998). In addition, 5 785 fatal accidents in the course of work were recorded in 2006 in the EU-27. The incidence rate is 3.5 fatalities per 100 000 employed people against 6.1 in 1994. The new Member States and Candidate Countries are gradually implementing the European Statistics of Accidents at Work (ESAW) data collection methodology. In the EU-27, between 2000 and 2006, the incidence rate of fatal accidents at work has fell by 19 % and the incidence rate of non-fatal accidents at work by 24 %.

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These proportions differ, of course, according to the economic activity and size of the enterprise, as well as the age, sex and working conditions of the workers. The construction industry has the highest incidence of accidents resulting in more than three days’ absence, though decreasing since 1994: 5 974 per 100 000 workers in 2006 against 9 000 in 1994. Agriculture has the second highest incidence: 3 879 in 2006 (6 500 in 1994). For fatal accidents, construction and agriculture have the highest incidence, around 10 and 9 per 100 000 workers respectively in 2006. In addition it must be borne in mind that systematic and annual data are not available for some economic activities, like fishing, which according to ad hoc surveys are at a high-risk in terms of accidents. Taking all economic activities together, the risk of accidents was in 2006 the highest in local units employing between 50 and 249 people and those employing 10 to 49 people. For non-fatal accidents at work the incidence rates are highest among young workers. Among those aged 18-24 years the incidence rate is 30-60 % higher than in the other age categories. In contrast, the incidence of fatal accidents tends to increase considerably with age. Men are 2.5 times more likely than women to have an accident — resulting in more than three days’ absence — and about 18 times more likely to have a fatal accident. This result is a function of men’s jobs and sectors of activity which tend to be more high-risk than those of women. There are also relatively more women who work part-time, which reduces their exposure to risk.

Accidents at work and work-related health problems: a high socio-economic cost

In addition to the major impact of these accidents in human terms, they have a high socio-economic cost. In 2006 approximately 29 % of all accidents resulted in absence of between three days and two weeks and about 29 % of absences lasted between two weeks and three months. In around 5 % of all accidents the consequence was an absence of three months or more, or permanent partial or total disability. In 2006 there were around 108 000 accidents in the EU-15 leading to permanent incapacity.

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey ad hoc module on accidents at work and work-related health problems in 2007, 3.2% of workers in the EU-27 had an accident at work during a one-year period, which corresponds to almost 7 million persons, and 8.6 % of workers in the EU-27 experienced a work-related health problem in the past 12 months, which corresponds to 20 million persons. Due to an accident at work, 0.7 % of all workers in the EU-27 took sick leave for at least one month. Around 2 % of all workers in the EU-27 were off work for at least one month in the past 12 months due to their most serious work-related health problem.

The most often reported work-related health problems were bone, joint or muscle problems which mainly affecting the back (31 %), neck, shoulders, arms or hands (16 %), hips, legs or feet (13 %), and stress, depression or anxiety (16 %).

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EU-27 roads claimed around 42 000 lives in 2007 Error! Not a valid link.

For the EU-27 as a whole, the number of road accident fatalities decreased by 30 % from 1998 to 2007, when around 42 000 deaths were caused by road accidents. During the ten-year period 1998-2007 over 520 000 people lost their lives in road accidents in the EU-27.

Error! Not a valid link.Notes: 1) DK, IE, IT, LU, PT: 2006; BE: 2004 data. 2) TR: No data.

3)

SDR = Standardised death rate - As most causes of death vary significantly with people's age and sex, the use of SDRs improves comparability over time and between countries, as they aim at measuring death rates independently of different age structures of populations. The SDRs used here are calculated by using the World Health Organisation’s standard European population. Source: Eurostat - Mortality Statistics.

In all Member States and Candidate Countries (no data available for Turkey) many more men than women died in transport accidents (road and other transport accidents) in 2007. The lowest standardised death rates were observed in Malta (14 women per million women and 60 men per million men), the Netherlands (25 and 69), Sweden (25 and 75) and the United Kingdom (23 and 82), and the highest ones in Romania (74 and 245), Latvia (91 and 320) and Lithuania (105 and 402).

Policy context

The EC Treaty (Article 137) states that "the Community shall support and complement the activities of the Member States in … (the) improvement in particular of the working environment to protect workers’ health and safety." Article 140 adds that "the Commission shall encourage cooperation between the Member States and facilitate the coordination of their action in all social policy fields under this chapter, particularly in matters relating to … (the) prevention of occupational accidents and diseases".

In 2001 the Commission issued a Communication on “Employment and social policies: a framework for investing in quality” aiming to boost the Social Policy Agenda and the Lisbon Strategy reinforced by Nice and Stockholm, to promote quality in employment. Particular emphasis is placed on improving quality of work and ensuring that this approach is integrated into employment and social policies. For this purpose a set of indicators on quality in work has been established to be used within the framework of the European Employment Strategy.

The lists of indicators of both the Synthesis Report and the Employment Committee Report on Indicators of Quality in Work include the evolution (index 1998=100) of the incidence rate of accidents at work, as defined by the number of accidents per 100 000 people in employment.

In 2007 the Commission adopted a Communication (COM (2007) 62 final) on “Improving quality and production at work: Community strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work”. In July 2007 the Council adopted a Resolution on “a new Community strategy on health and safety at work (2007–2012)”. The European Parliament adopted its Resolution on the strategy on 15 January 2008. Among other things, the Community strategy 2007-2012 identifies research priorities including psychosocial issues, musculoskeletal disorders, dangerous substances, knowledge of reproductive risks, occupational health and safety management, risks associated with several cross-factors (e.g. work organisation and workplace design issues, ergonomics, combined exposure to physical and chemical agents) and potential risks associated with nanotechnologies. Following two-stage consultation of the European social partners, work on a possible legislative initiative addressing the risks arising from poor ergonomics started in 2008. As regards the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at the workplace, an issue also highlighted in the strategy, in 2008 the first stage of consultation of the European social partners on took place. Consultation of the social partners on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to electromagnetic fields at work was launched in 2009.

Employers and trade unions in the healthcare sector signed an EU-wide agreement on 17 July 2009, to prevent injuries from needle sticks and other sharp objects. The agreement specifically addresses one of the priority objectives of the EU's current strategy for health and safety at work (2007-2012).

The Council Resolution states as one of the main objectives: “to achieve an ongoing, sustainable and consistent reduction in accidents at work and occupational illnesses" and it supports the Commission in seeking to reduce the incidence rate of accidents at work by 25 % at Community level. National strategies should seek to establish measurable targets for reducing occupational accidents and illnesses for relevant categories of workers, types of companies and/or sectors. The Parliament Resolution endorses these aims. The Working Party of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work “Community Strategy Implementation and Advisory Committee Action

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Programme" encourages an exchange of views on national OSH strategies. While respecting subsidiarity, achievement of the targets set out in the Commission Communication will greatly depend on improving OSH performance in individual Member States. To this end, it was considered appropriate that this Working Party collects and disseminates information on the development of national OSH strategies and programmes.

In its 2001 Transport White Paper, the Commission proposed the ambitious goal to save yearly 25 000 lives on European roads by the target date of 2010. This target has meanwhile been endorsed by the European Parliament and all Member States. In 2003, the European Road Safety Action Programme was tabled, containing many concrete measures proposed to achieve this goal. And in February 2006, the Commission issued a midterm review on our common endeavours to halve road fatalities. Summing up, Europe has achieved a lot in the last five years, but we need to do more together to reach our objective.

The "CARS21" Report of December 2005 and the mid-term review of the Transport White paper of June 2006 provide some guidance on the strategic direction of the European Union concerning road safety.

In Europe, the agreed approach to more road safety is the principle of "shared responsibility". Beyond all institutional rhetoric, everyone has a role to play to make Europe’s roads safer. In this respect, the European Road Safety Charter is central, inviting all members of society, be they for instance a local school, a rural association or a large multinational company, to make their own measurable contribution to improving road safety.

Finally, road safety initiatives are — or should be — underpinned by solid statistical data on accident causes and other relevant issues. The collection and analysis of data, today in the European CARE accident data base, tomorrow in the European Road Safety Observatory is crucial to divissing effective and proportionate measures to improve road safety. To achieve its objectives, the Commission proposes legislation and political action, but makes also some funding available through the European Research Framework Programmes and its Road Safety Subvention Programme.

Methodological notes

Sources: Eurostat — European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW), ad hoc module on accidents at work and work-related health problems in the 2007 Labour Force Survey and Transport Statistics. European Commission Transport DG — Community Road Accident database (CARE).

For road accidents, people killed are all those killed within 30 days of the accident. For Member States not using this definition, corrective factors are applied.

The data on work accidents relate to almost 90 % of people in employment in the EU-15. The new Member States are in the process of implementing the full ESAW methodology. Only those working accidents that lead to more than three days’ absence are included in the annual ESAW data but accidents with no absence from work or resulting in an absence of between one and three days were also covered in the ad hoc module on accidents at work and work-related health problems in the 2007 Labour Force Survey. The ESAW incidence rates have been calculated for only nine major branches of economic activity (NACE Rev. 1 sections).

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	Country codes
AT	Austria
CY	Cyprus
DK	Denmark
ES	Spain
HR	Croatia
IT	Italy
LT	Lithuania
MT	Malta
PT	Portugal
SI	Slovenia
UK	United Kingdom

BE	Belgium
CZ	Czech Republic
EE	Estonia
FI	Finland
HU	Hungary
LU	Luxembourg
MK⁴	The former Yug
NL	Netherlands
RO	Romania
SK	Slovakia

publicatiedatum	27-01-2010
kenmerk	5787/10 ADD 3