At the opposite end of the scale are Finland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland, whose male and female populations top the exercise charts. Portugal also rated poorly in terms of smoking, with over 40 percent of men here smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day.
A new European Social Survey (ESS) report analysing attitudes towards physical and mental health concludes that a substantial number of Europeans suffer from a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, in part due to their economic and social conditions.
The authors also found that promoting healthy lifestyles alone does not seem to be a sufficient strategy for reducing health problems, and should be supported by income redistribution policies and improving physical working conditions.
Among the clearest findings is that, across Europe, women are much more likely than men to report depressive symptoms and severe headaches.
In all 21 European countries, women reported more signs of depression than their male compatriots, with some countries showing huge discrepancies.
The largest discrepancies are found in Portugal (30.9 percent of women compared to 15.8 percent of men); Poland (25.3 percent compared with 11.3 percent); Spain (24.7 percent compared with 12.8 percent) and Germany (20.2 percent compared with 9 percent).
Over a quarter of women said they experienced depressive symptoms in four countries: Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Only in Hungary did more than 20 percent of men say they suffer in this way.
Binge drinking rates are particularly high in the UK and Portugal - frequent binge drinking is rare amongst the Nordic countries, and amongst women in central and Eastern Europe.
Looking at the quantity of alcohol consumed in all 21 countries, men consume almost twice as many units as women, and weekend day consumption is almost twice weekday consumption.
The number of units of alcohol consumed is particularly high in Ireland whilst low rates of frequent alcohol consumption are reported in Israel and central and Eastern Europe (especially amongst women).
Women are also much more likely to report suffering from severe headaches across Europe - split between genders, the 12 countries with the highest rates are composed of the female population.
The report also finds that self-reported smoking rates are much lower in northern Europe, the UK and Ireland and considerably higher among men in central and Eastern Europe.
In combining male and female smoking rates, Sweden has the least number of smokers, with under 15 percent. This statistic is made even more striking when looking at the number of Swedes who previously smoked - 77.8 percent of men and 76.2 percent of women (the two highest rates in Europe).
Men are also far more likely to report being overweight than women in all 21 countries across Europe, while the lowest rates of people who think of themselves as overweight or obese can be found amongst women in Switzerland (29.9 percent), Denmark and Austria (both 38.9 percent).
Prof. Terje A. Eikemo, an author of the report, said: “Although these first results have provided new evidence on the linkages between health and their determinants in European welfare states, we have only scratched the surface of all the opportunities that lie within this new module. I hope these new opportunities will give spark to more collaborative work between the social and medical sciences.”
Dr. Rory Fitzgerald, Director of ESS, added: “These Topline results from the ESS health inequalities module show the stark differences in health within and between countries. The results provide academics and policy makers with rich data, illuminating differences and suggesting possible reasons for them.”