In Europe, 22 million people have cancer, representing 5% of the population
82% confidence
HealthEurope
Omissions
The 5% figure is from 2020 data (Joint Research Centre/Eurostat), not current 2025/2026 data
The 22 million figure appears to conflate EU population (approx. 450 million) with the wider European region (approx. 750 million)
5% of EU population would be approximately 22 million, but 5% of all European countries would be approximately 37+ million
The data refers to people estimated to be alive after a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, not necessarily currently living with active cancer
The European Parliament's own website cites approximately 12 million cancer survivors in the EU, not 22 million
Sources
PrimaryJoint Research Centre - European CommissionIn 2020, 5% of the resident population in European countries was estimated to have had a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime
PrimaryEuropean ParliamentThere are an estimated 12 million cancer survivors in the EU
AcademicPMC/NIH - Cancer prevalence in EuropeAbout 1 in 50 (2%) Europeans are either living with cancer or in remission, representing about 10.1 million people
SecondaryESMO - European Society for Medical OncologyIn 2020, 5.0% of the population were estimated to be alive after a cancer diagnosis in Europe; this represents approximately 37.5 million people across European countries