EUROPE - Medical Device Industry and Demographic Data
Shown below you will find some basic demographic and economic data on the overall European market, plus information specific to the medical device and healthcare industry. Learn more about individual European countries.
Total area: 9.9 million km²
Number of countries: 31 (27 in European Union plus 3 additional that are members of European Economic Area and also Switzerland which is neither an EU or EEA member but generally considered part of Europe)
Population of Europe: Approximately 500 million in European Economic Area (EEA)
Structure of EU population:
0-14 years: 15.4%
15-64 years: 67.2%
65 years and over: 17.4% (2009 est.)
Main currencies: Euro, Pound sterling
Languages used in Europe: More than 20 official languages
Healthcare financing in Europe: The healthcare financing systems differ from country to country and in some cases also between the regions within one country. Current trend is towards implementation of DRG-based systems to increase efficiency of allocating financial sources. In general, governments are facing high healthcare expenditures and applying cost-efficient measures to decrease deficit in their national health insurance funds. Because of increasing healthcare costs, there is a growth in out-of-pocket expenditures for patients throughout Europe.
European medical device industry: The European medical device market is the second largest in the world and worth over €55 billion (2005 data). In 2008 the European medical device market is expected to grow by 9 %. The European market is highly competitive but with a continued scope for expansion mainly due to aging population. Innovative and cost-efficient medical devices have the best opportunities. The fastest growing markets are in the field of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and musculoskeletal disorders. The biggest European markets are Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Spain and they represent almost 78 % of the European medical device market. The emerging markets are the Eastern European countries that have joined EU.