Half of Europeans still don’t know they can call 112 in an emergency abroad
New data published by the European Commission indicates growing awareness that the European Emergency Number 112 can be used anywhere in Europe. However, the data also points to persistent gaps in 112 awareness among age groups and genders, and suggests that high domestic usage of 112 does not automatically translate into awareness that the number can be used when abroad.
Key findings: Awareness of 112 as a European emergency number is growing, but gaps remain
The 2026 e-Communications report for 112, based on data gathered by the European Commission in 2025, contains positive findings for the European emergency number.
While the number of people who would call 112 in an emergency in their own country has remained stable since 2020, increasing slightly from 74% to 75%, knowledge that 112 can be used when travelling in another EU country rose by nine percentage points, from 41% to 50% of the population. If this positive trend continues, a majority of Europeans will soon know they can use 112 while travelling.
The number of people who did not know what number to call in an emergency also dropped significantly during this period. In 2025 2% of respondents did not know what number to call in their own country, compared to 4% in 2020, while respondents who did not know what number to call when abroad fell from 39% to 30%. A further 20% said they would try to use a national emergency number from their own country or another number if they faced an emergency when in another country.
In all, the 2026 e-Communications report demonstrates that awareness is increasing. However this still means that 50% of Europeans still don’t know that they can use 112 anywhere in Europe.
Knowledge of 112 varies across age groups and genders
The report also contained some less positive trends. Awareness of the European emergency number both within their own country and when travelling abroad is lower in very young and older adults than in adults aged 25-54. This finding is similar to 2020, when younger and older adults also demonstrated lower awareness.
Interestingly, while there was almost no difference between men and women in awareness of 112 for emergencies in their own country, at 76% and 75% respectively, a gap emerged when asked what number can be used when abroad. In this case, 53% of men and 47% of women knew they could use 112. This gap of 6% is unchanged from 2020, when 44% of men and 38% of women answered correctly, suggesting that awareness efforts may need to be reviewed to ensure that messaging is equally effective for men and women.
Increasing awareness of 112 as a national number does not guarantee awareness of 112 as a European number
Perhaps the most interesting finding is that high domestic usage of 112 does not necessarily mean that people know this number can also be used abroad.
Austria and Sweden illustrate this clearly. In Austria, where several emergency numbers exist, only 39% of respondents said they would call 112 in a domestic emergency, compared to 98% in Sweden. However, when asked what number can be used when abroad, awareness of 112 was identical in both countries, at 57%. Similarly, Belgium had the highest share of respondents saying they would use 112 in an emergency abroad, despite ranking 20th for domestic awareness of 112. This inconsistency was widely demonstrated across the EU, as can be seen below.
EENA’s analysis found a correlation coefficient of 0.43 between domestic and European awareness of 112 in each country, indicating only a moderate relationship between higher domestic and European use of 112. In other words, while high domestic usage of 112 may help with awareness when travelling, it does not sufficient or necessary to improve awareness of 112 as a European number.
This finding has important implications for publicity efforts. As the added value of a European emergency number is whether it can be used abroad, this suggests important lessons for national publicity efforts for 112, as focusing public education on awareness that 112 can be used nationally is insufficient to raise awareness that 112 can be used abroad.
If 112 is to be a success, Europeans need to understand that it is a European number, and not just a national one.
