Cataract surgery—one of the most common procedures involving the removal of the eye’s natural lens—was carried out just over 5 million times across the EU in 2023. This corresponds to a rate of 1,118 surgeries per 100,000 people.
Significant differences can be seen between countries. Luxembourg reported the highest rate, with 1,627.3 procedures per 100,000 people, followed by France (1,598.7) and Estonia (1,506.8).
At the lower end, Romania recorded just 389.4 surgeries per 100,000 people. Poland (628.8) and Bulgaria (745.8) also reported comparatively low rates.
Most patients were released on the same day
Across the EU, only 6.4% of patients undergoing cataract surgery were formally admitted as in-patients, requiring an overnight stay. Most patients were released on the same day, either as formally admitted day patients (55.8%) or out-patients (37.8%; based on data available for 24 countries).
In 19 of 27 EU countries, more than half of the patients undergoing cataract surgery were registered as day patients.
Day patients were the overwhelming majority in Portugal, Spain, Estonia, Sweden, Ireland, Finland and Malta, with shares ranging from 98.0% in Malta to 99.2% in Portugal.
In Slovenia (98.8%), Czechia (98.5%), Italy (91.9%), Germany (87.9%) and the Netherlands (79.9%) most patients undergoing cataract surgery were treated as out-patients.
In Romania and Bulgaria, the majority of patients were kept overnight (in-patients), with shares of 57.0% and 54.7%, respectively.
29.04.2026.
