Maps

The map shows the contraction of national economies in Western Europe in 2020. In 2020, the global economy contracted by -3.1%. Nonetheless, the economic trajectories of the various regions have been very different. While emerging markets shrank by -2.1%, advanced economies declined by twice that rate (-4.5%). The European Union was one of the regions more severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. Here, the GDP contraction in 2020 was -5.9% (-6.4% in the Euro area). The economic repercussions of the pandemic in the Nordic countries were less severe. On average, the Nordic economies contracted by -3.0% in 2020. Even though all countries in the Nordic Region experienced an economic deceleration, the impacts were very different in different areas. Measured in real terms, in 2020, GDP volumes shrunk between -7.1% in Iceland and -0.7% in Norway. Somewhere in the middle were Denmark (-2.1%), Finland (-2.3%), and Sweden (-2.9 %). In the autonomous territories, the GDP contraction ranged from a -2.8% decline in the Faroe Islands to a modest 0.4% expansion in Greenland.

The map shows a typology of European regions by combining information on pre-pandemic unemployment rates with unemployment rates in 2020, based on the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS) that is measured in November. On one axis, the typology considers the extent of the change in the unemployment rate between 2019 and 2020. On the other axis, it considers whether the unemployment rate in 2020 was above or below the EU average of 7.3%. Regions are divided into four types based on whether the unemployment rate decreased or increased and how it relates to the EU average. Regions falling into the first type, shown in red on the map, had an increase in the unemployment rate in 2020 as well as an above-average unemployment rate in general in 2020. These regions were most affected by the pandemic. They are mainly found in northern and central parts of Finland, southern and eastern Sweden, the capital area of Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and central parts of France. Regions falling into the second type, shown in orange on the map, had an increase in the unemployment rate in 2020 but a below-average unemployment rate in general in 2020. These regions had low pre-pandemic unemployment rates and so were not as badly affected as the red regions, despite the rising unemployment rates. They are located in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Åland, southern and western Finland, Sweden (Gotland, Jönköping, and Norrbotten), Estonia, Ireland, northern Portugal and central and eastern parts of Europe.

The map shows the number of births during the first nine months of 2021 (January to September) compared to the number of births during the same months in 2020. The babies born during the first nine months of 2021 were conceived between the spring and winter of 2020 when the first waves of the pandemic affected Europe. Babies born during the first nine months of 2020 were conceived in 2019 (i.e., before the pandemic). The map therefore compares the number of births conceived before and during the pandemic. At the time of writing, it seems as if both baby boom and baby bust predictions have been correct, with developments playing out differently across countries. In many Southern and Eastern European countries, such as Spain, Italy or Romania, the number of births declined by more than 1% during the first nine months of 2021. In Portugal and Poland, but also Greenland, drops in the number of births were particularly sharp with more than 5% fewer babies born in 2021. In several of these “baby bust” countries, these decreases in fertility came on top of already low fertility rates. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Poland, for instance, all already had a total fertility rate (TFR) of less than 1.5 children per woman before the crisis. These values are substantially below the so-called ‘replacement ratio’ of 2.1 children per woman, which is necessary to maintain population size. In these countries, existing demographic challenges have thus been aggravated during the pandemic.

The excess mortality has affected overall life expectancy at birth across Europe. In 2019, prior to the start of the pandemic, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy had the highest life expectancy in Europe, followed closely by Sweden, Iceland, France, and Norway. Finland and Denmark had slightly lower levels but were still at or above the EU average (Eurostat, 2021). Life expectancy across the EU as a whole and in nearly all other countries has been steadily increasing for decades. Declines in life expectancy are rare, but that is indeed what happened in many countries in Europe during the pandemic in 2020. One study of upper-middle and high-income countries showed that life expectancy declined in 31 of 37 countries in 2020. The only countries where life expectancy did not decline were New Zealand, Taiwan, Iceland, South Korea, Denmark and Norway. The largest falls were in Russia and the United States. The high excess mortality in Sweden in 2020 has had an impact on life expectancy. In Iceland, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Faroe Islands, life expectancy went up for both sexes in 2020 (data not yet available for Greenland and Åland). In Sweden, life expectancy fell by 0.7 years for males from 81.3 years to 80.6 and for females by 0.4 years from 84.7 to 84.3 years. The steeper decline in life expectancy for males is consistent with the larger number of excess deaths among males.  Thus, compared to other Nordic countries, the adverse mortality impact of the pandemic has been greater in Sweden. However, when comparing Sweden to the rest of Europe, it is the Nordic countries, other than Sweden, which are exceptional. The trend among countries in Europe is for a fall in life expectancy in 2020. The largest declines were in countries in southern and eastern Europe. Italy and…

The map shows the cumulative number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 per 10,000 inhabitants until 31 December 2021 in most European countries. In a European context, the Nordic countries stand out as having a relatively low number of confirmed cases in most regions. Sweden and Denmark stand out as the countries with the highest number of confirmed cases among the Nordic countries. It is possible however that the high case numbers in Denmark can be explained, at least to some extent, by the high levels of testing per capita. Looking at Europe as a whole, the UK, Spain, Czechia, Croatia and the Baltic States stand out as having experienced the highest number of cases overall. From a regional perspective, higher case numbers can often be observed around the capital regions and other large cities. There are also several cross-border differences that are interesting to note. In Germany, for example, the border with the Netherlands is clearly evident with a much higher number of confirmed cases on the Dutch side of the border. In contrast, the situation in the eastern part of the country more closely resembles that in the Czechia than what was observed in the rest of Germany. 

The map shows the accessibility to specialised hospitals, hospitals with 24/7 surgical services, hospitals with overnight care, primary health care centres and part time health care centres in Iceland. In total, 47 health care facilities provide primary health care and 22 health care facilities provide part time primary health care in the country, contributing to an established pattern of extensive accessibility across Iceland. Altogether, all the health care facilities cover 99.5% of the population within a 30-minute ride, and a one-hour ride covers nearly the entire Icelandic population (99.95%).

The map shows the accessibility to specialised hospitals, hospitals with 24/7 surgical services, hospitals with overnight care and primary health care centres in Iceland. The people in Iceland have widespread access to primary health care, thanks to the 47 health care facilities in the country which provide such a service. These four types of health care service cover 98.8% of the national population within a 30-minute car ride, and 99.9% of the population is covered by a one-hour car ride.

The map shows the accessibility to specialised hospitals, hospitals with 24/7 surgical services and hospitals with overnight care in Iceland. Overnight care is available in six more healthcare facilities in the country. Over 90% of the national population (91.2%) are able to access these services within a 30-minute car ride, while a one-hour car ride covers 96.2% of the national population.

The map shows the accessibility to both specialised hospitals and hospitals with 24/7 surgical services in Iceland. Apart from the two hospitals providing specialised care, three more health care facilities providing 24/7 surgical services in the country. Nearly 80% of the inhabitants (76.2%) can access such health care services within a 30-minute car ride, and a car ride of one hour covers 89.4% of the Icelandic population who need such a service.

The map shows the accessibility to specialised hospitals in Iceland. Highly specialised care, being the most professional form of health care service, is also the most restricted in terms of accessibility for the general population in Iceland, compared to other types of health care. The two hospitals offering specialised care are located in Reykjavik and Akureyri. More than two-thirds of the inhabitants (70.85%) can access specialised health care services within a 30-minute car ride, and a car ride of one hour covers 85.39% of the Icelandic population who need such a service.

The map illustrates the accessibility of in-patient care in Eastern health region in Iceland. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. Fjarðabyggð and Fljótsdalshérað accommodate the two health care facilities which offer in-patient care. Almost one-third of the inhabitants (28.2%) can access one of these two facilities, if they need them, within a 10 minute car ride. A half-hour car ride covers more than half of the regional population (59.3%), and a one hour car ride covers 86.4% of the population in the health region.

The map illustrates the accessibility of out-patient drop-in care in Eastern health region in Iceland. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. Out-patient drop-in care during both office and non-office hours (24/7) is only available in one health care facility in Eastern health region in Iceland, and this is in Fjarðabyggð. This scarcity contributes to restricted access to the service. Approximately one-in-ten (11.5%) in the region can reach the drop-in care facility within a half-hour car ride, and it is accessible to less than half of the regional population (40.1%) within a one-hour car ride.

The map illustrates the accessibility of primary care in Eastern health region in Iceland. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. Fjarðabyggð municipality accommodates five of the 11 facilities. All the other municipalities, apart from Fljótsdalshreppur, accommodate one health care facility each. Primary out-patient care is available in all the 11 health care facilities, covering 65.7% of the regional population withina 10 minute car ride. A large majority of inhabitants (87.7%) across the region can access primary care within a half-hour car ride, and a one-hour car ride covers a 97.5% of the regional population. Accessibility in Fjarðabyggð is relatively extensive, with five primary care facilities.Despite Fljótsdalshérað only accommodating one primary care facility, inhabitants have easy access to the service, since the facility is located in the most densely populated part of the municipality.

The map illustrates the accessibility of in-patient care in Sogn og Fjordane in Norway. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. Despite the existence of seven health care facilities in Sogn og Fjordane, and three outside the region also providing in-patient care, accessibility is relatively restricted. Less than one fifth of the regional population (18.4%) can access these hospitals within a half-hour car ride, while a one-hour car ride covers just over one-third of the population (35.7%). Luster municipality accommodates one of the health care facilities offering in-patient care, which also offers primary and emergency out-patient care. The municipality therefore has relatively extensive accessibility of various kinds of health care, except highly specialised care.

The map illustrates the accessibility of out-patient drop-in care during non-office hours in Sogn og Fjordane in Norway. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. With regard to out-patient drop-in care during evenings and weekends (24/7), accessibility is more limited compared to office hours provision. In total, 14 health care facilities included in the analysis were offering such a service, with four of them located outside the region. Approximately one-third of inhabitants (32.8%) can reach one health care facility within a ten-minute car ride when they need drop-in health care during non-office hours., these facilities are accessible to half of the regional population (51.8%) within halfan-hour by car, and 71.8% of the population can be covered by a one-hour car ride.

The map illustrates the accessibility of out-patient drop-in care during office hours in Sogn og Fjordane in Norway. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. The accessibility of out-patient emergency care during office hours presents a similar picture to that of primary care, since 27 of the 28 primary care facilities also provide emergency care during office hours. The service is accessible to a slightly smaller proportion of the population (57.9%) within a ten-minute car ride, and 89.3% of all people living in the region can access emergency health care during daytime.

The map illustrates the accessibility of primary care in Sogn og Fjordane in Norway. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. In terms of accessibility, landscape plays a large role in Sogn og Fjordane. As a result of the region’s mountainous landscape, accessibility is ingeneral more limited. Half of the regional population (58.7%) can access one of the 28 facilities offering primary health care within a 10 minute carride, and a half-hour car ride coves 89.7% of the population in total.

To secure better access to general practitioners for the rural population, the region of Västerbotten has developed the concept of virtual healthrooms (VHRs). These VHRs are unstaffed, which means that they have no regular health personnel in situ. They are equipped with distance-spanningtechnology, which means that patients can go there to take consultations from a practitioner online, conducting health checks such as measuringblood pressure or heart rate. The coloured patches on the map show those populated areas in Västerbotten where inhabitants can expect a reduction of travel distance to primary health care through the implementation of VHRs. The coloured patches are populated areas in Västerbotten (by 1000*1000m grid) with improved accessibility of health care resulting from the implementation of virtual health rooms. The colour indicates the total distance reduced.Distance is measured as being via the road network. The average distance to the closest primary health care facility (health centre or virtual health room) is 6 km for the overall population in Västerbotten. The implementation of VHRs means that around 3.5% of the 270,000 inhabitants of Västerbotten experience increased accessibility toa primary health care service. The travel distance for this portion of the population has been cut by almost 50%, from 42 km per person to 23 km per person. Patients may also use virtual health rooms to conduct teleconsultations with health professionals at specialised hospitals, which creates even greater potential from an accessibility standpoint.

The map illustrates the accessibility of highly specialised care in Västerbotten in Sweden. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. The only hospital offering highly specialised in-patient care is located in Umeå, and half of the regional population (51.0%) can reach the hospital within a 40-minute car ride. For the inhabitants of Storuman, however it takes more than a two-hours car ride to access specialised care in the hospital. The accessibility of health care services for rural dwellers are improved by means of distance-spanning digital solutions. Instead of making the effort of physically visiting a health care facility, they can access video consultations with general practitioners via virtual health care rooms, and then decide whether a follow-up physical visit to the specialised hospital is needed.

The map illustrates the accessibility of in-patient care in Västerbotten in Sweden. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. The accessibility of in-patient care shares similar characteristics to that of access to dropin out-patient care. The ten facilities mentioned above provide in-patient care, too. The only difference is that two facilities outside the region were included in the analysis. But they did not alter the overall picture, suggesting that inhabitants living along the border line tend not to cross the border to seek in-patient care. These hospitals are accessible to 56.3% of the population within a 10-minute car ride, and 97.1% of the population within a one-hour car drive.