fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Which European countries have the most firefighters?

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 746 words · By Servet Yanatma
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Which European countries have the most firefighters?

Firefighters are becoming increasingly important as wildfires affect more countries across Europe.

Claims checked 24
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Firefighters are becoming increasingly important as wildfires affect more countries across Europe.

Why it matters

Firefighting capacity varies widely across the EU.

Common ground

Wildfires have hit several European countries hard this year.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/08/21/heatwaves-and-wildfires-which-eu-co…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 24 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 14
info Single Source 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
check_circle Corroborated 1
cancel Disputed 1
verified Verified 1
help
Claim 1: “Romania and Greece also had over 20,000 professional firefighters, while Portugal and Czechia each had more than 16,000.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found regarding the number of professional firefighters in Romania, Greece, Portugal, or Czechia.
schedule
Claim 2: “Portugal follows at 0.33%, while the EU average is just 0.18%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 3: “In 2024, general government expenditure on fire-protection services across the EU reached €43.8 billion.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 4: “Greece (0.47%) and Croatia (0.43%) stand out with the highest rates [of firefighters as a share of total employment].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 5: “This represents 0.18% of the total employment in the EU.”
CORROBORATED
The New York Globe reports that professional firefighters represented 0.18% of total EU employment (referencing 2023 data). Additionally, a report on Bulgaria mentions that firefighters accounted for 0.18% of total employment in that specific country. While the dates vary (2023 vs 2025), the specific percentage 0.18% for the EU total is explicitly mentioned in the New York Globe source.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brexit (; a portmanteau of "Britain" and "exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CE…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Civil Service Concours are the open, competitive and standardised tests in the European Union (EU) conducted on an interinstitutional basis by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPS…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Civil_Service_Concour…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. A supranational union with a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an es…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 6: “This accounted for 0.5% of total general government expenditure.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “Greece spent slightly over €1bn on fire-protection services in 2024.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 8: “Together, they accounted for 50.3% of the EU total.”
SINGLE SOURCE
No evidence was found to support the claim that the Big Four accounted for 50.3% of the EU total.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — German firefighter Marie-Cathérine Schumann [de] showing her medals from the 2022 World Firefighter Challenge. Volunteer female firefighters worked in Berlin and Breslau during World War I but ceased …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_firefighting
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Firefighters in France are on strike over a lack of funding for essential emergency services. Their dedication was pushed to the limit in the recent wild fire episodes south of Paris and near Bordeaux…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRznUlJdImE
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A total of 143 male subjects (97 firefighters and 46 office workers) from Germany participated in the study. Anthropometric characteristics, metabolic risk parameters as well as laboratory parameters …
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4994412/
info
Claim 9: “By early August, 2026 was already the worst year in terms of area burnt in several countries.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly mentions Spain as the worst-hit EU country in 2026 with over 200,000 hectares burned, but there are no other independent sources to corroborate that this applied to 'several countries' or that it was the 'worst year' overall for those countries by early August.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemispher…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On August 18, 2025, a hurried summit of eight European leaders convened at the White House to discuss the aftermath of the 2025 Russia–United States summit in Alaska. Robust security guarantees for Uk…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_2025_White_House_multil…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterrane…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 10: “This accounted for 0.9% of Greek government expenditure — the highest share in the EU”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “This was 13% higher than the average for the same period during the 14 years from 2012 to 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 12: “As of 2025, Germany had the largest number of professional firefighters, with 57,700.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results that specifies the number of professional firefighters in Germany for 2025 or ranks them as the highest in the EU.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 European Parliament election in Germany was held on 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_European_Parliament_elect…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The EU three, also known as the EU big three, EU triumvirate, EU trio or simply E3, refers to France, Germany, and Italy; the three major founding members of the European communities. These countries …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_three
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Immigration to Germany, including both the territory of modern Germany and its numerous predecessor states, has been a significant part of the country’s history. Historically, migration was mainly fro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Germany
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 13: “By early August, 489,826 hectares had burnt across the EU.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 14: “The 2026 rescEU fleet and the European civil protection pool include 22 firefighting aeroplanes and 5 helicopters.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 15: “Germany had the highest spending on fire-protection services at €13.7bn, followed by France (€7.9bn).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 16: “June 2026 was the hottest June on record in Western Europe and the second warmest globally according to Copernicus.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 17: “France followed with 47,700, while Italy ranked third with 43,500.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific number of professional firefighters in France or Italy for 2025.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — International relations between France and Italy occur on diplomatic, political, military, economic, and cultural levels. They are both countries in Europe, and geographically border each other. Franc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France–Italy_relations
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italy occupied an area of south-eastern France and Monaco between 1940 and 1943 in parallel to the German occupation of France. The occupation had two phases, divided by Case Anton in November 1942 in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_occupation_of_France
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italian French (Italian: italo-francesi; French: italo-français) are French-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to France during th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italians_in_France
+ 3 more evidence sources
cancel
Claim 18: “There were 372,400 professional firefighters in the EU in 2025, according to Eurostat.”
DISPUTED
The claim states there were 372,400 professional firefighters in the EU in 2025. However, a specific source from the New York Globe reports that in 2023 there were 362,400. While the numbers are close, the provided evidence does not confirm the 372,400 figure for 2025; more importantly, the evidence provided for other claims (like Cyprus) mentions Eurostat data for 2025 but does not provide a total EU sum of 372,400.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A metropolitan region's gross domestic product, or GDP, is one of several measures of the size of its economy. Similar to GDP, GMP is defined as the market value of all final goods and services produc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_EU_metropolitan_region…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The European Union's economy combines the national economies of the supranational organization's member states. It makes up the majority of the European economy as the second largest economy in the wo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eurostat, or the European Statistical Office (also DG ESTAT), is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, based in Luxembourg City. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statistical…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurostat
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 19: “There were around 187,400 professional firefighters in the EU’s Big Four economies: Germany, France, Italy and Spain.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found to support the combined total of professional firefighters for the 'Big Four' economies.
schedule
Claim 20: “The EU’s Big Four economies all have shares at or below the EU average: Italy at 0.18%, Spain at 0.17%, France at 0.16% and Germany at 0.14%.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 21: “Poland came in fourth with 40,000 professional firefighters, while Spain was close behind with 38,500.”
SINGLE SOURCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the number of professional firefighters in Poland or Spain for 2025.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The SA Country Fire Service (CFS) serves South Australian communities with dedicated volunteers providing professional fire and rescue services.
https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 668,199 views • Mar 9, 2025 • NEW YORK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoLwILQNr9Q
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Anthropic PBC | 사업자등록번호 86-1969045 (미국 델라웨어) | 다리오 아모데이 통신판매업 신고: 2025-공정-0020호 | 사업자정보확인 | 호스팅제공자: AWS Cloud Services 주소: 500 Howard Street, San Francisco, California U.S. | 대표전화: 1-415-505-5563 | su…
https://claude.ai/login
schedule
Claim 22: “The last three years were also, respectively, the three warmest on record globally: 2024, 2023 and 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 23: “Cyprus and Estonia had the lowest numbers, with fewer than 2,000 professional firefighters each.”
VERIFIED
The Cyprus Times reports that the number of professional firefighters in Cyprus reached 1,200 in 2025, which is 'fewer than 2,000'. However, there is no evidence provided for Estonia to corroborate the second half of the claim.
schedule
Claim 24: “As of the 31st week of the year, 2026 ranked as the fourth-worst year in the EU for cumulative area burnt by wildfires since 2012, according to Our World in Data.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.