The report notes obesity rates have been rising steadily for the past 50 years and warns overall the European region is not on track to achieve WHO targets to halt the increase by 2025.
However, it notes that while obesity and diabetes rates are rising, “more positively, for the first time some member states such as France and Spain have been able to halt the rise”.
It says obesity is a risk factor in a number of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer, as well as in mental health challenges including an increased risk of depression, social anxiety and mood disorders.
No data was available for childhood obesity rates in France. The countries with the highest prevalence of overweight children were Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain.
Life expectancy
In 2021, life expectancy was 79.1 years for men and 84.7 for women in France, putting France 15th on the list. This was above the UK (78.3 for men and 81.9 for women) and well above the European region average of 73.3 for men and 79.3 for women.
First place went to Israel (part of the WHO’s European region) with 82.4 for men and 82.1 for women, followed by Norway (81.5 for men, 84.3 for women) and Switzerland (81.5 for men and 85.1 for women).
Heart disease
One of the leading causes of death in the WHO European region is cardiovascular disease (including heart attack and stroke) states the report.
It shows France has the lowest rate of ischaemic heart disease in the region with a mortality rate of 30.2 per 100,000 people compared to 33.6 in Spain, 43 in the UK, 60.3 in Germany.
The country with the highest rate of ischaemic heart disease is Uzbekistan, with a mortality rate of 364.3 per 100,000.
Out of pocket healthcare expenses
The report notes that out of pocket (OOP) health expenses are one of the main drivers of financial hardship among the countries in the region.
However France performs well here too; it has one of the lowest levels of OOP payments as a percentage of total health costs in the region. Only Monaco has a lower level.
You might wonder why there would be any out-of-pocket payments at all in countries such as the UK, where the NHS is free. There are several costs in the UK that most people have to pay for themselves, which include prescriptions, dental care and optical care.
In France, dental care, optical care and hearing aids can be fully covered by the 100 Santé scheme, phased in between 2019 and 2021.
In a 2024 report on French healthcare the WHO said: “France is more likely to protect people from financial hardship caused by out-of-pocket payments for healthcare than most other countries in the EU”.
It highlighted three areas of healthcare coverage policy in France that helped make it more affordable:
Entitlement to healthcare financed by the social health insurance scheme does not depend on contributions, so “all residents are automatically covered for life”.
People with any of 32 chronic conditions, (known as affections de longue durée, ALDs) which affect 18% of the population, are exempt from copayments (ticket modérateur) for the treatment of these conditions.
Undocumented migrants in France for at least 90 days have access to benefits similar to residents, without user charges, through the state medical aid scheme.
Family planning
France also scored the most highly when it comes to reproductive age women (aged 15-49) who are married or in a union and have “their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods”. In France, 91.6% of respondents agreed, compared to 83.4% in the UK and the European regional average of 77%.
This means the French are the most satisfied in the region when it comes to access to contraception.
The report says access is vital in “reducing poor obstetrical outcomes linked to complications of (unintended) pregnancy and childbirth”. It can also “advance human rights such as freedom of expression and choice and achieve better equity in the right to work and education”.
Cancer
In the European region the risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 is 26% for men and women (30% for men and 23% for women).
The risk is the highest in western EU countries. France is fifth, with a risk of 31%, behind Denmark (34%), Norway (33%), Hungary (32%) and Croatia (31%).
Suicide
Although suicide rates fell in most countries between 2015 and 2021, there was an increase in seven countries including France (+3.5%), which came behind the UK (+14.3%), Norway (+13.5%), North Macedonia (+13.3%) and Spain (+8.6%).
