EAN Country Fact Sheets

Neurological disorders are the second most common cause of disability and premature death in the European Region. As Europe's population ages, the prevalence and burden of these conditions is expected to rise sharply in the coming decades. Greater attention must be paid by health authorities to prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care of neurological diseases to address the growing health and economic challenges they pose.

To support informed decision-making and advocacy efforts, the European Academy of Neurology  has developed a series of country fact sheets offering detailed insights into the burden of neurological conditions across Europe.

These fact sheets are based on data from three major sources:

1. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which provides comprehensive epidemiological data, including disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), prevalence, deaths, years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) for all neurological conditions in the European region.
2. COIN-EU (Cost of Illness in Neurology in Europe), a collaborative research initiative that compiles and analyses data on the economic burden of neurological disorders. This includes:
   • Direct health care costs (e.g., hospitalisations, treatments, medications),
   • Informal care costs (e.g., social support, family caregiving), and
   • Indirect costs (e.g., lost productivity due to illness or early retirement).
3. EAN’s own survey conducted among national neurological societies, which provides essential data on the number of neurologists in each European country. Combined with prevalence figures, these data reveal disparities in neurological workforce availability—such as the number of neurologists per patient—which are critical to understanding gaps in care provision.

EAN's Commitment to Neurological Health in Europe

Through initiatives like this data collection and analysis project, EAN aims to raise awareness, inform policy, and improve care for patients living with neurological diseases.

EAN is committed to:

• Strengthening neurological services and workforce across Europe,
• Supporting evidence-based health policy, and
• Ensuring that neurology remains at the forefront of the public health agenda in Europe.

These country profiles aim to be a resource for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and patient organisations, helping them understand the scope of neurological diseases and advocate for the attention, funding, and reform these conditions urgently require.

You can explore below the individual country profiles to gain a clearer picture of how neurological diseases affect populations across Europe: