STIs Hit Record Levels in Europe, with Sharp Rises Also Seen in the Netherlands
New ECDC figures show cases of gonorrhoea and syphilis reaching their highest levels in over a decade. In the Netherlands, gonorrhoea cases doubled between 2020 and 2024.
The number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Europe reached record levels in 2024, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has reported. The Netherlands is part of that trend, with sharp increases in both gonorrhoea and syphilis in recent years.
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The European picture
The figures come from the ECDC’s latest Annual Epidemiological Reports, which cover the 27 EU member states plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. In 2024, there were 106,331 recorded cases of gonorrhoea across Europe, a 303 percent increase compared with 2015. Syphilis cases more than doubled over the same period, to around 45,500. Chlamydia remained the most common STI, with more than 213,000 cases.
Of all the participating countries, Spain recorded the highest number of confirmed gonorrhoea and syphilis cases in 2024, with 37,169 and 11,556 respectively.
The most worrying trend, according to the ECDC, involves newborns. Syphilis is increasingly being found among heterosexual people, particularly women of reproductive age, and as a result the number of congenital syphilis cases, where the infection passes from mother to baby, nearly doubled from 78 in 2023 to 140 in 2024 across 14 reporting countries. “Most distressingly, between 2023 and 2024, we have seen a near doubling of congenital syphilis, where infections pass directly to newborns, leading to potentially lifelong complications,” said the ECDC’s Bruno Ciancio.
The situation in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the number of people diagnosed with gonorrhoea rose from 6,826 in 2020 to 13,952 in 2024. Syphilis cases climbed from 1,526 to 2,173 over the same period.
According to the Dutch public health institute RIVM, the share of women testing positive for gonorrhoea at sexual health clinics reached 4.2 percent in 2024, the highest figure since measurements began in 2003. At the same time, the RIVM found that 7 percent fewer people were tested at a Centre for Sexual Health than in 2023, with the drop particularly visible among women and heterosexual men.
Why the rise is happening
The ECDC points to several causes. People with symptoms are waiting longer to see a doctor and get tested, and many countries have not done enough on prevention. Prevention campaigns and testing have lagged behind changes in sexual behaviour since the coronavirus pandemic. Cost is also a barrier: in 13 of 29 reporting countries, people still have to pay out of pocket for a basic STI test.
Why it matters, and what is advised
Untreated, these infections can cause serious complications, including chronic pain and infertility, and in the case of syphilis, problems with the heart or nervous system. The ECDC is calling on countries to take “urgent action”: to make testing and prevention services easier to access, to test faster and treat better. Its advice to the public is straightforward: use condoms with new or multiple partners, and get tested if you have symptoms such as pain, discharge or a sore.
This is a sensitive health topic, and anyone with concerns or symptoms can contact their GP or a local Centre for Sexual Health for confidential testing and advice.