The European Institute for Gender Equality published results from Europe’s biggest survey on unpaid care
On 23 February 2026, the European Institute for Gender Equality published a long-anticipated report with results of the second wave of the CARE Survey.
This publication expanded on findings from the first wave of the survey, with a broader scope and stronger methodology. Conducted across all 27 EU Member States, the survey reached more than 65000 respondents aged 16–74 years, making it one of the most comprehensive surveys of care and time use in Europe.
Eurocarers had the opportunity to contribute to the first edition of the survey, and to meet the EIGE Research Team working on the survey during the last meeting of the Eurocarers Research Working Group in October 2025 in Vilnius.
This newly published report is an important resource that allows researchers, practitioners and policy makers to access up-to-date figures on informal long-term care, childcare and housework. This data paints a comprehensive picture of the current state of gender inequalities in care, and its economic toll for the EU as a whole.
The report zooms into specific areas of interest, analysing what is the impact of care responsibilities on people’s work-life balance, mental health, leisure time and social participation. It also explores how the experience of care and time use are further shaped by access to infrastructure and technology. An analysis of gender attitudes towards unpaid care and housework concludes the study.
Policy relevance
The CARE survey is an essential tool that fills the data gaps on informal care, access to care services and work–life balance in the EU. It provides a stronger evidence base to shape EU and national policies in the area of care.
The first wave of the survey in 2022 informed the development of the European Care Strategy. The second wave goes even further, delivering updated, more detailed data that will help monitor the implementation of the strategy and the two Council recommendations.
The survey will also be part of other EU-wide monitoring tools, including the social scoreboard that underpins the European Pillar of Social Rights and the social dimension of the European Semester.
Focus on individual Member States
Country factsheets analysing the data country-by-country will be published later in 2026.
