The Best European Hospitals, 2025 Ranking

When it comes to prestigious and cutting-edge hospitals, the Old Continent can count on a thousand-year-old medical tradition that continues to this day. And while global healthcare has made great strides in the last century, many major European hospitals have not lagged behind, including those in Italy.

Of course, the comparison with the United States shows how, at least among the top global rankings, our continent suffers somewhat in terms of investment and achievements in various disciplines. But this, however, does not deprive Europe of a very important record: the number of major hospitals scattered across the continent. Yes, because in terms of numbers and quantities, there is no one like it, not even compared to the USA.

This is confirmed by the World’s Best Hospitals 2025 ranking compiled by Newsweek in collaboration with Statista, which has been a benchmark for the sector for years.

World’s Best Hospitals 2025: The Criteria for the Ranking of the Best European Hospitals

The World’s Best Hospitals 2025, published by Newsweek in collaboration with the data analysis platform Statista, is a tool designed to help patients and healthcare professionals identify excellent hospitals around the world. The 2025 edition includes 2,445 hospitals in 30 countries, including many leading European institutions.

The countries included in the ranking were selected based on comparable criteria, such as standard of living, life expectancy, number of hospitals, and data availability. Among them is a large European region, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The methodology is based on four main sources:

• healthcare expert survey: tens of thousands of physicians, hospital managers, and healthcare professionals indicated the facilities they would recommend, excluding those they work at;
• patient experience: analysis of surveys conducted by insurance or public agencies, regarding general satisfaction, quality of care, and staff availability;
• hospital quality indicators: collected from public sources, including parameters such as hygiene, quality of care for specific treatments, and patient-to-staff ratio;
• PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures): standardized questionnaires completed by patients to assess their health status and quality of life after treatment.

From 2024, the evaluation will also include a bibliometric score and collaboration with ICHOM, an international organization that promotes the standardized measurement of health outcomes relevant to patients.

The global ranking highlights the 250 most internationally significant hospitals, including numerous European hospitals known for clinical excellence, innovation, and patient care.

The 100 Best European Hospitals: The 2025 Ranking

Here is the ranking of the best hospitals on our continent, including their global position for 2025.

Italy, Germany, and France among the continent’s leaders

The World’s Best Hospitals 2025 ranking provides a detailed snapshot of global hospital excellence, which also reflects a specific socioeconomic situation. In Europe, the data reveals a strong leadership position for some nations, particularly Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy, which together represent a significant portion of the European top 100.

Germany is the European country with the largest number of hospitals in the ranking: 18 facilities distributed throughout the country, with outstanding examples such as the Charité Berlin (2nd in Europe, 7th in the world) and the Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg (6th in Europe). This ranking reflects Germany’s high levels of public investment in healthcare: according to OECD Health Statistics, Germany spent over 12.7% of its GDP on healthcare in 2023, one of the highest figures in Europe.

Italy is well represented with 11 hospitals in the ranking. The best-ranked hospital is the Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan, ranked 18th in Europe (37th globally). It is followed by the Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli in Rome (22nd in Europe, 44th globally) and the Ospedale San Raffaele (29th in Europe, 54th globally). Other significant Italian hospitals include the Istituto Clinico Humanitas, the Policlinico Sant’Orsola-Malpighi, and the Azienda Ospedale Università Padova. Italy’s strong performance demonstrates that, despite systemic challenges and regional disparities, there are centers of international excellence. However, with public healthcare spending equal to 7.2% of GDP (2023 data, Eurostat), Italy is below the EU average in this regard, but this does not affect the prestige and global relevance of some facilities.

Other countries highly present in the ranking include France (14 hospitals), Netherlands (9), Switzerland (8), United Kingdom (7), and Spain (6).

Among the top ten hospitals on the continent, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset in Stockholm also stands out (1st in Europe, 5th in the world), taking the crown as best European hospital overall, despite not being among the top-ranked countries.

The ranking highlights how hospital quality in Europe is not uniform, but is strongly influenced by factors such as healthcare investments, healthcare system governance, and policies to enhance hospital performance.

Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: I migliori ospedali europei, il ranking del 2025