Breast Cancer Facts
Incidence
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, and accounts for 1 in 4 annual cancer cases worldwide*.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the WHO Europe region with an estimated incidence of 604,900 in 2022*.
Incidence in the EU-27 in 2022 was estimated to be 375,000*.
1 in 11 women in the EU-27 will develop breast cancer before the age of 74*.
Mortality and Survival
40% OTHER CANCER
16% BREAST
14% LUNG
13% COLORECTUM
8% PANCREAS
5% OVARY
5% STOMACH
Country/Region | Incidence | Mortality | ||
Numbers | Age-standardised rate (W)* | Numbers | Age-standardised rate (W)* | |
EU-27 | 375,079 | 83.4 | 95,881 | 14.9 |
WHO Europe region** | 604,941 | 70.7 | 160,043 | 14.5 |
Albania | 1022 | 51.1 | 407 | 14,5 |
Armenia | 1013 | 39.6 | 453 | 16.1 |
Austria | 5983 | 69.5 | 1789 | 14.3 |
Azerbaijan | 2195 | 32.9 | 794 | 11.8 |
Belarus | 5183 | 56.6 | 1384 | 13.3 |
Belgium | 11.255 | 104.4 | 2324 | 14.2 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1539 | 51.9 | 564 | 15.0 |
Bulgaria | 3558 | 52.8 | 1399 | 15.5 |
Croatia | 3108 | 74.6 | 612 | 11.7 |
Cyprus | 1020 | 104.8 | 238 | 18.6 |
Czech Republic | 7732 | 72.5 | 1709 | 11.7 |
Denmark | 5259 | 95.4 | 1114 | 14.1 |
Estonia | 857 | 63.1 | 267 | 13.2 |
Finland | 5378 | 92.3 | 879 | 11.9 |
France | 65,659 | 105.4 | 14,739 | 15.8 |
Georgia | 1730 | 49.0 | 861 | 20.6 |
Germany | 74,016 | 77.0 | 20,601 | 15.8 |
Greece | 8987 | 82.4 | 2431 | 14.7 |
Hungary | 7694 | 76.4 | 2237 | 16.9 |
Iceland | 205 | 71.1 | 65 | 17.1 |
Ireland | 3688 | 91.5 | 883 | 17.2 |
Israel | 4618 | 78.7 | 1207 | 16.2 |
Italy | 57,480 | 87.0 | 15,455 | 14.8 |
Kazakhstan | 4570 | 36.9 | 1574 | 12.3 |
Kyrgyzstan | 852 | 25.3 | 270 | 8.2 |
Latvia | 1263 | 66.0 | 430 | 16.3 |
Lithuania | 1719 | 62.7 | 515 | 14.5 |
Luxembourg | 565 | 99.7 | 105 | 15.1 |
Malta | 386 | 86.3 | 81 | 15.1 |
Republic of Moldova | 1620 | 46.6 | 675 | 17.5 |
Montenegro | 416 | 76.5 | 154 | 23.3 |
The Netherlands | 15,919 | 101.6 | 3269 | 14.5 |
North Macedonia | 1069 | 65.3 | 379 | 19.5 |
Norway | 4480 | 95.6 | 765 | 11.0 |
Poland | 24,418 | 66.0 | 8723 | 17.4 |
Portugal | 8954 | 88.8 | 2211 | 14.5 |
Romania | 12,685 | 69.2 | 3877 | 16.5 |
Russian Federation | 78,839 | 57.7 | 22,115 | 13.6 |
Serbia | 4900 | 60.5 | 1845 | 18.5 |
Slovakia | 3649 | 67.3 | 1241 | 18.1 |
Slovenia | 1660 | 82.3 | 470 | 15.0 |
Spain | 34,735 | 81.5 | 6747 | 10.6 |
Sweden | 7452 | 81.4 | 1535 | 11.9 |
Switzerland | 6642 | 77.4 | 1541 | 12.4 |
Tajikistan | 818 | 19.5 | 283 | 7.4 |
Turkey | 25,249 | 46.8 | 7360 | 12.5 |
Turkmenistan | 1001 | 31.1 | 485 | 15.6 |
Ukraine | 18,096 | 43.1 | 6613 | 13.2 |
United Kingdom | 58,756 | 94.0 | 12,122 | 14.0 |
Uzbekistan | 5022 | 27.8 | 2246 | 13.0 |
*Age-standardised rate (W): A rate is the number of new cases or deaths per 100,000 persons per year. An age-standardised rate is the rate that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardization is necessary when comparing several populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of cancer.
**WHO Europe region includes 53 countries. Incidence data include all countries except for Andorra, Monaco and San Marino.
Resources
- European Commission. European Cancer Information System. Breast Cancer in the EU. October 2023 https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pdf/Breast_cancer_2022-Oct_2023.pdf.
- European Commission. European Cancer Information System. Survival estimates https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
- Ferlay J, Ervik M, Lam F, Laversanne M, Colombet M, Mery L, Piñeros M, Znaor A, Soerjomataram I, Bray F (2024). Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer. Available from: https://gco.iarc.who.int/today.