Greece has second highest number of psychiatrists in EU block

As governments around the world try to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, a spike in mental health cases come as no surprising consequence.

The sudden overhaul of daily life has meant mental health support services have become more relevant than ever, with countries now facing new pressures on the healthcare system as a result.

Greece is among the countries that has a more than adequate number of mental healthcare professionals capable of dealing with the increase in demand, according to the latest data by Eurostat.

According to 2017 data published by Eurostat last week, Greece has amongst the highest number of psychiatrists per capita in Europe. In fact Greece has the second number of psychiatrists in the EU and third across Europe.

The EU countries with the highest number of psychiatrists per 100 000 inhabitants were Germany (27 per 100 000 inhabitants), followed by Greece (25), Lithuania and Finland (both 24; Finland 2015 data), France, the Netherlands and Sweden (all around 23 psychiatrists per 100 000 inhabitants; Sweden 2016 data).

In contrast, there were less than 10 psychiatrists per 100 000 inhabitants in Bulgaria (8) and Poland (9) in 2017. There were also low numbers of psychiatrists relative to the size of the population in Spain, Malta and Romania (all 11 psychiatrist per 100 000 inhabitants).

In 2017, there were over 80 000 psychiatrists in the European Union (EU).