Do young people consider themselves healthy?
In 2025, 89.7% of young people aged 16 to 29 in the EU perceived their health as good or very good. This was clearly higher than the share in the total population aged 16 and over, at 67.9%.
This share has stayed largely stable over time, with only a small decline since 2021 from 91.1% to 89.7%.
In 2025, a slightly higher share of young men aged 16 to 29 reported good or very good health compared with young women in the same age group, at 90.9% and 88.4%, respectively.
The data also show a clear link between higher income and better self-perceived health. In the EU in 2025, 85.6% of young people aged 16-29 living in households with the lowest income (first income quintile) rated their health as good or very good, compared with 93.7% of those in households with the highest income (fifth income quintile).
Source dataset: hlth_silc_10
In 14 EU countries, more than 90% of 16-29-year-olds reported good or very good health. Romania (98.2%), Greece (98.1%) and Croatia (95.9%) recorded the highest shares of young people aged 16-29 who said they were in good or very good health in 2025. Sweden (74.4%), the Netherlands (79.8%) and Finland (81.4%) had the lowest shares.
Source dataset: hlth_silc_10
For more information
- Statistics Explained article on young people - health
- Thematic section on health
- Database on health
- Database on children and youth
- Thematic section on children and youth
- Interactive tool Young Europeans
- Key Figures on European living conditions – 2026 Edition
Methodological notes
- Self-perceived health is the respondent's overall assessment of their health in general. It is subjective by definition and is expected to cover different aspects of health, including psychological and physical symptoms.
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Income quintiles group households by equivalised income. Equivalised disposable income is a household's total income after taxes and deductions, adjusted for the number of people living there. This adjustment takes into account the size of the household and the age of its members to allow a fair comparison. There are 5 quintiles:
- 1st quintile – the lowest 20% of the population by income.
- 2nd to 4th quintiles – middle-income groups.
- 5th quintile – the highest 20%, or the wealthiest group.
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