This statistic depicts the total expenditure on health as a share of GDP (gross domestic product) in selected European countries in 2022. In that year, Switzerland spent the largest share of GDP on healthcare at 12 percent, followed by Germany at 11.8 percent.

Over the period from 2005 to 2023, health expenditure as share of GDP in Italy fluctuated between 8.1 percent and 9.6 percent. More specifically, it increased between 2005 and 2009, before gradually decreasing. In 2020, the total healthcare expenditure (public, private, and out-of-pocket) peaked at 9.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product, also as a result of the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the total health expenditure as a share of GDP in Italy was 8.4 percent.    European framework The Italian share was lower the European average, which was equal to 10.9 percent in 2020. Moreover, some of the major European economies such as France and Germany, addressed a much higher share of the GDP to healthcare. As a matter of fact, in 2023, France and Germany spent 11.9 and 11.8 percent of their GDP on health respectively. Private healthcare spending In the last few years, conversely with the decrease of public healthcare resources, the private spending on health increased. The private health expenditure peaked at 41.5 billion euros in 2022. Specialist examinations and dental checks were the most burdening headings for Italians in terms of private healthcare costs.

Among OECD member countries, the United States had the highest percentage of gross domestic product spent on health care as of 2023. The U.S. spent nearly 16 percent of its GDP on health care services. Germany, France and Japan followed the U.S. with distinctly smaller percentages. The United States had both significantly higher private and public spending on health compared with other developed countries. Why compare OECD countries?OECD stands for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. It is an economic organization consisting of 38 members, mostly high-income countries and committed to democratic principles and market economy. This makes OECD statistics more comparable than statistics of developed and undeveloped countries. Health economics is an important matter for the OECD, even more since increasing health costs and an aging population have become an issue for many developed countries. Health costs in the U.S.  A higher GDP share spent on health care does not automatically lead to a better functioning health system. In the case of the U.S., high spending is mainly because of higher costs and prices, not due to higher utilization. For example, physicians’ salaries are much higher in the U.S. than in other comparable countries. A doctor in the U.S. earns almost twice as much as the average physician in Germany. Pharmaceutical spending per capita is also distinctly higher in the United States. Furthermore, the U.S. also spends more on health administrative costs compare to other wealthy countries.

In 2023, the United States had the highest per capita health expenditure among OECD countries. At that time, per capita health expenditure in the U.S. amounted over 13,432 U.S. dollars, significantly higher than in Switzerland, the country with the second-highest per capita health expenditure. Norway, Germany and Austria are also within the top five countries with the highest per capita health expenditure. The United States also spent the highest share of it’s gross domestic product on health care, with 16.5 percent of its GDP spent on health care services. Health Expenditure in the U.S. The United States is the highest spending country worldwide when it comes to health care. In 2022, total health expenditure in the U.S. exceeded four trillion dollars. Expenditure as a percentage of GDP is projected to increase to approximately 20 percent by the year 2031. Distribution of Health Expenditure in the U.S. Health expenditure in the United States is spread out across multiple categories such as nursing home facilities, home health care, and prescription drugs. As of 2022, the majority of health expenditure in the United States was spent on hospital care, accounting for a bit less than one third of all health spending. Hospital care was followed by spending on physician and clinical services which accounted for 20 percent of overall health expenditure.

Healthcare spending in the United Kingdom (UK) has gradually increased since 2000 when it amounted to 78.5 billion British pounds. By 2021, healthcare expenditure in the UKreached a maximum of over 244 billion British pounds. This was an increase of approximately two billion British pounds on the previous year's healthcare spending. In 2023, this figure stood at almost 230 billion British pounds. Health expenditure in the UK compared to Europe In 2023, the UK spent almost 11 percent of its GDP on healthcare. In comparison to other European countries, this ranked the UK fifth in terms of health expenditure. At the op of the list was Switzerland, which spent 12 percent of its GDP on healthcare that year.  Performance of the NHS in the UK The majority of surveyed individuals in the UK regard the NHS as a world class health service and remain happy with the high level of care provided by the organization. Although waiting times have been getting worse in the A&E department over the years. The NHS has been falling behind the target that 95 percent of patients should be seen within four hours of arrival. As a result, the primary reasons for dissatisfaction with the NHS among the public are the length of time required to get a GP or hospital appointment and the lack of staff.

The public and private per capita health expenditure differs significantly by country. As of 2023, the United States had by far the highest public per capita spending worldwide. Moreover, the U.S. had the second-highest private expenditure on health globally just after Switzerland. Health expenditures globally Health expenditures include the consumption of health goods, services and public health programs as well as insurance and government spending. Globally, health expenditures are on the rise. Among all countries the average per capita health expenditure is projected to see an increase of over 30 percent from the 2019 totals by the year 2050. Despite the growing expenditures, there are still countries with relatively low health expenditures. The countries with the lowest governmental health expenditure include South Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh. Health expenditures spotlight: the U.S. In 2021 the U.S. national health expenditure was at an all-time high. However, the projections indicate that total health expenditures will increase even more. The per capita health expenditures for the U.S. looked equally grim, with 2021 projected to be the most expensive year for health care on record. Despite having seen a significant increase in the total cost of health care in the U.S., trends indicate that the annual percentage change in health expenditures is decreasing over time.

Among OECD countries in 2022, South Korea had the highest rate of yearly visits to a doctor per capita. On average, people in South Korea visited the doctors 15.7 times per year in person. Health care utilization is an important indicator of the success of a country’s health care system. There are many factors that affect health care utilization including healthcare structure and the supply of health care providers.

OECD health systems

Healthcare systems globally include a variety of tools for accessing healthcare, including private insurance based systems, like in the U.S., and universal systems, like in the U.K. Health systems have varying costs among the OECD countries. Worldwide, Europe has the highest expenditures for health as a proportion of the GDP. Among all OECD countries, The United States had the highest share of government spending on health care. Recent estimates of current per capita health expenditures showed the United States also had, by far, the highest per capita spending on health worldwide.

Supply of health providers

Globally, the country with the highest physician density is Cuba, although most other countries with high number of physicians to population was found in Europe. The number of graduates of medicine impacts the number of available physicians in countries. Among OECD countries, Latvia had the highest rate of graduates of medicine, which was almost twice the rate of the OECD average.