Young Italians: 95.6 per cent feel healthy, but across the EU, one in two under-30s dies as a result of an accident or self-harm

In Italia, 95.6 per cent of 16–29-year-olds rate their health as good or very good, compared with 89.7 per cent across the EU: this puts Italia in fourth place, behind Romania (98.2 per cent), Greece (98.1 per cent) and Croatia (95.9 per cent). Slovakia and Bulgaria follow. At the bottom of the ranking are Sweden (74.4 per cent), the Netherlands (79.8 per cent) and Finland (81.4 per cent): more than twenty percentage points separate Italia and Sweden, but this does not prove that our young people are clinically healthier. In 14 out of 27 Member States, the figure exceeds 90 per cent: this is a map of perception, not a ranking of the quality of healthcare services.

The Eurostat indicator is perceived health: an individual’s assessment of their physical and psychological well-being, influenced by culture, expectations and their willingness to recognise or report a health problem. In Europe, nearly nine in ten young people feel well, compared with 67.9 per cent of the entire population aged 16 and over. The proportion among young people has fallen from 92 per cent in 2010 to 89.7 per cent in 2025. 90.9 per cent of boys and 88.4 per cent of girls report being in good health.

In 2025, 17.2 per cent of young Europeans reported having a long-term illness or health problem: around one in six. Among girls, the figure rises to 19.6 per cent, compared with 15 per cent of their male peers. Italia, along with Romania, Greece and Bulgaria, does not exceed 5 per cent; Finland reaches 39.9 per cent, followed by Sweden (25.1 per cent) and Estonia (24.2 per cent).

The prevalence of reported conditions also depends on diagnosis, recognition and attention to symptoms. A low number of reports does not necessarily mean the condition is less widespread. For Italia, too, the key issue is whether a young person with a problem receives a timely diagnosis and treatment, rather than relying solely on what they state in a questionnaire. The Finnish example illustrates this: the country reports far more chronic conditions than Italia, but the disparity may also reflect greater diagnostic capacity and a different level of awareness of the condition.

Across the EU, 85.6 per cent of young people from lower-income households report being in good health, compared with 93.7 per cent of those from higher-income households: a gap of 8.1 percentage points. The gap rises to 23.4 percentage points in Finland, 17.7 in Denmark and 15 in Estonia.

In Italia, the gap narrows to just 1.2 points – one of the smallest margins after Greece: even the least well-off describe their circumstances in positive terms.

However, this does not take into account the number of missed appointments, the cost of treatment or the waiting time to see a specialist. The fact that perceptions are almost the same amongst the rich and the poor does not mean that access to care is identical: to assess equity, we also need data on unmet needs.

The impact of economic conditions is reflected in the persistent health-related limitations on daily activities, which Eurostat uses as an indicator of disability. These affect 8.1 per cent of young Europeans in 2025, compared with 7.5 per cent in 2010. Among the least well-off, the figure stands at 11.2 per cent, exactly double the 5.6 per cent recorded among the wealthiest. In Italia, however, the reported percentage among those on low incomes is one percentage point lower than among those on high incomes, but this figure does not prove that social disadvantage has disappeared.

The voucher scheme for the elderly, therefore, aims to ease the financial burden currently borne by families, but for young people the challenge also lies in identifying less visible needs: psychological distress, chronic conditions, difficulties in accessing care and preventable risks. The 95.6 per cent positive response rate in Italia is good news, but not a reason to let our guard down. The healthcare system must support those who are ageing, but it must also safeguard the health of those who will have to sustain the country in the future: prevention today can reduce the need for care in the future.