Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The number of professional firefighters in the European Union (EU) countries combined reached 390,600 in 2024, representing 0.19% of the total EU workforce. Compared to 2023, the number of firefighters increased by 28,200. According to figures released by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office in Brussels, among the 20 EU countries for which data is available, Croatia recorded the highest proportion of firefighters as a percentage of the total workforce (0.45%). Greece followed with 0.41%, and the Czech Republic with 0.34%.
The lowest proportions were recorded in the Netherlands (0.07%), Denmark (0.08%), and Sweden (0.10%).
Across the EU, 75.2% of all professional firefighters were between 15 and 49 years old. This is a remarkably young workforce compared to the total EU workforce, with only 64.8% of workers in this age group. EU governments spent €40.6 billion on fire protection services in 2023. In 2023, EU governments spent €40.6 billion on "fire protection services," reflecting an 8.5% increase in general government spending on this function compared to 2022 (€37.4 billion).
However, the increase in spending on fire protection services in absolute terms is in line with increases in other functions, with fire protection services consistently accounting for 0.5% of total government spending since 2017.
In 2023, Romania had the highest share of spending on fire protection services, accounting for 0.9% of total general government spending, followed by Estonia and Greece, each with 0.7%. In contrast, Denmark had the lowest share of spending on fire protection services (0.1%), followed by Malta (0.2%), Portugal and Austria (both 0.3%).