Unpaid care in the EU

Care is a central issue in national- and EU-level policy discussions, with ongoing reforms aimed at ensuring the provision of high-quality care services and the well-being of those delivering care.
 

Throughout this report, ‘unpaid care’ refers to care, support or help provided to a person of any age by a family member, a relative, a neighbour, a friend or another member of the community without financial compensation. This includes (grand)parenting and informal/family caregiving.
 

The role of unpaid carers becomes all the more vital when formal care services are under pressure, yet those who provide this care often remain unrecognised and unsupported. Ensuring adequate provision of formal care services is key to making unpaid caregiving a genuine choice, not a necessity driven by a lack of formal care services.
 

In all societies, unpaid care plays an important role in supporting individuals of all ages. The demand for care and support is strongly shaped by demographic shifts. The median age in the EU has increased over time, and fertility rates remain below replacement levels, creating an imbalance between working-age individuals and people with care or support needs. Smaller family sizes, increased geographical dispersion and declining marriage rates have weakened traditional support networks, reducing the pool of unpaid carers. Women have historically been the main providers of care in the EU. An increase in women’s labour market participation has reduced their availability to provide unpaid care and made it more difficult to reconcile paid work with unpaid care. Formal care services are stretched to meet these growing needs. Policymakers must navigate these intersecting challenges to ensure resilient and equitable care systems across the EU.
 

This report investigates unpaid carers’ situation, their characteristics, the type of care and support they provide, their well-being and the challenges they face. It includes an analysis of how unpaid caregivers are defined across the EU and an exploration of national-level policies that aim to support them. While all unpaid caregivers are covered, specific attention is given to young carers and those balancing multiple caregiving responsibilities.
 

Policy context

Unpaid caregivers require support in multiple areas, including healthcare, financial assistance, social protection and skills development. However, the fundamental issue remains recognition – that is, ensuring that unpaid carers are recognised, acknowledged and supported.
 

The importance of balancing employment and caregiving responsibilities to support a competitive economy is recognised in EU policymaking. Several key policies address unpaid care from multiple angles: the work–life balance directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1158) established minimum standards for parental, paternity and carer’s leave; the European care strategy (2022) promotes a life-course approach to care and work–life balance; and the Council recommendations on childcare and long-term care aim to increase the availability of formal care services and to support unpaid carers. The gender equality strategy (2020–2025) acknowledges the burden of care on women and aims to close gender gaps in the labour market. Similarly, the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities (2021–2030) highlights reliance on unpaid care for independent living.
 

The EU is set to introduce initiatives affecting unpaid care, including a new gender equality strategy, a quality jobs roadmap, an anti-poverty strategy and a strengthened child guarantee, all of which could support caregivers.
 

Key findings

• Ageing populations, declining fertility rates and changing family structures, along with climate change and digitalisation, are reshaping care needs and the provision of care.
   
• Nearly half (45 %) of the EU population provides unpaid care. Ten per cent of people balance multiple caring responsibilities simultaneously. Women are more likely than men to provide unpaid care, and are especially likely to provide care intensively, and to juggle multiple care roles.
   
• ‘Hidden caring’ means that many unpaid carers are not identified through surveys, and data on young carers (aged under 18) are particularly scarce. Lower-bound estimates suggest that nearly a quarter of 15- to 17-year-olds provide unpaid childcare, and 8–24 % provide long-term care.
   
• The average weekly unpaid care commitment is 29.7 hours for all unpaid carers, while young adolescent carers average 18.0 hours. Carers in dual or triple roles provide considerably more.
   
• Sixty-one per cent of people providing unpaid long-term care and 67 % of those providing unpaid childcare are also engaged in paid work.
   
• Unpaid caregiving is often driven by obligation rather than choice, shaped by societal norms and limited availability of affordable formal care services of good quality.
   
• Unpaid caregiving can negatively affect caregivers in multiple ways, for example reducing labour market participation, causing financial strain, leading to social isolation and loneliness, and affecting carers’ physical and mental health.
   
• Recognition and definitions of unpaid carers vary across the EU, leading to differences in national support systems, financial measures and social protection in terms of eligibility, coverage and effectiveness.
   
• Flexible work and care leave policies help carers combine employment and caregiving, preventing economic hardship and withdrawal from paid employment. Significant variations in the generosity of care reconciliation measures remain across the EU.
   
• Access to affordable formal care services of good quality is key in ensuring that caregiving is a genuine choice, in supporting unpaid caregivers, and in alleviating carer burden.
   
• Respite care and day centres are key to preventing carer burnout, while training, education and targeted health interventions support carers’ health and well-being.
   
• Young carers remain largely invisible in policy frameworks, though support frameworks are emerging in some Member States.
   

Policy pointers

• Ensure unpaid carers are recognised through legislation, national strategies and policy frameworks. Recognition must be inclusive of all age groups, diverse family structures and non-family carers. Self-identification should be facilitated, ensuring access to support.
   
• Support carers through providing affordable and accessible high-quality care services, including childcare, respite care and home assistance.
   
• Provide flexible care-related leave for carers in employment or education.
   
• Enhance carers’ capabilities through training and education. In addition, facilitate the transferability of caregiving experience to the labour market.
   
• Provide clear, accessible information on support available to carers.
   
• Improve the financial well-being of caregivers through social protection schemes, and by enhancing wider social protection for carers by linking care periods to entitlements and health and accident insurance.
   
• Acknowledge and alleviate both direct and indirect financial costs borne by unpaid caregivers.
   
• Safeguard unpaid carers’ health and well-being, tackling stigma and addressing physical strain and exposure to hazards. Mental health support should be tailored to specific caregiving challenges, including loneliness.
   
• Ensure comparative data collection on unpaid caregiving across the EU, utilising administrative data sources and employing survey methods that minimise hidden caring and under-reporting of care, especially among young carers.
   
• Adopt a holistic view of caregiving, acknowledging people with simultaneous care roles, young carers and carers needing care themselves, while targeting carers with the greatest support needs.