In 2023, Singapore dominated the ranking of the world's health and health systems, followed by Japan and South Korea. The health index score is calculated by evaluating various indicators that assess the health of the population, and access to the services required to sustain good health, including health outcomes, health systems, sickness and risk factors, and mortality rates. The health and health system index score of the top ten countries with the best healthcare system in the world ranged between 82 and 86.9, measured on a scale of zero to 100.

Global Health Security Index  Numerous health and health system indexes have been developed to assess various attributes and aspects of a nation's healthcare system. One such measure is the Global Health Security (GHS) index. This index evaluates the ability of 195 nations to identify, assess, and mitigate biological hazards in addition to political and socioeconomic concerns, the quality of their healthcare systems, and their compliance with international finance and standards. In 2021, the United States was ranked at the top of the GHS index, but due to multiple reasons, the U.S. government failed to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The GHS Index evaluates capability and identifies preparation gaps; nevertheless, it cannot predict a nation's resource allocation in case of a public health emergency.

Universal Health Coverage Index  Another health index that is used globally by the members of the United Nations (UN) is the universal health care (UHC) service coverage index. The UHC index monitors the country's progress related to the sustainable developmental goal (SDG) number three. The UHC service coverage index tracks 14 indicators related to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, service capacity, and access to care. The main target of universal health coverage is to ensure that no one is denied access to essential medical services due to financial hardships. In 2021, the UHC index scores ranged from as low as 21 to a high score of 91 across 194 countries. 

According to a 2021 health care systems ranking among selected high-income countries, the United States came last in the overall ranking of its health care system performance. The overall ranking was based on five performance categories, including access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes. For the category administrative efficiency, which measures the amount of paperwork for providers and patients in the health system, the U.S. was ranked last, while Norway took first place. This could be because the health system in the U.S. is a multi-payer system, while Norway has a single-payer system, which most likely simplifies documentation and billing tasks. This statistic present the health care administrative efficiency rankings of the United States' health care system compared to ten other high-income countries in 2021.

UnitedHealth was to be the largest insurer globally as of February 2025, with market capitalization amounting to approximately 481.8 billion U.S. dollars. UnitedHealth Group is a healthcare and insurance company headquartered in Minnesota. Global insurance industry - additional information Insurance is a form of risk management, where a person, called the insured or policy holder, signs a contract with a company, which is called insurer or insurance carrier, in order to protect themselves from sudden losses. The contract between the two parties, called an insurance policy, states the circumstances and conditions under which the insured will be compensated. The major types of insurance are: life/health insurance and property/casualty insurance. The amount of money charged by an insurance company for active coverage is called an insurance premium and is most often paid in monthly installments. In 2022, the value of gross premiums generated by the global insurance industry amounted to more than six trillion U.S. dollars. The United States is the leading country in the insurance market in terms of value of life and non-life direct premiums written, with premiums estimated at 2.96 trillion U.S. dollars for 2022. When ranking global insurers by their total assets, the Chinese insurance company Ping An Insurance placed first, with assets worth approximately 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Ping An Insurance was also the company with the strongest brand value among insurance companies in 2023.

In 2021, Mexico was the Latin American country with the highest overall Global Health Security (GHS) Index score, with 57 points out of a total of 100. In comparison, the United States, the best-rated country worldwide, had a score of 75.9. The Global Health Security Index measures a country's readiness to prevent, detect and respond to biological threats.

This statistic shows the 2024 ranking of the global top 10 health care equipment and services companies based on revenue. The values were taken from the Financial Times equity screener database. U.S. health care provider Thermo Fisher Scientific was ranked first, with a total revenue of almost **** billion U.S. dollars.

In 2024, ** percent of adults worldwide agreed that many people in their country could not afford good healthcare. Individuals in Brazil were most likely to agree with this statement "Many people in my country cannot afford good healthcare.", while the least share of individuals agreed in Sweden. The results generally reflect the wealth of a nation, with people from wealthier countries tending to agree that good healthcare is affordable. The biggest exception being the U.S. where over ********* of U.S. respondents agreed that good health care is unaffordable to many despite being one of the richest country in the world. This statistic shows the percentage of adults in select countries worldwide who agreed that many people in their country could not afford good healthcare as of 2024.

The current healthcare spending ranking is led by the United States with 5 trillion U.S. dollars, while China is following with 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars. In contrast, Gambia is at the bottom of the ranking with 83.51 million U.S. dollars, showing a difference of 5 trillion U.S. dollars to the United States. According to Worldbank health spending includes expenditures with regards to healthcare services and goods. The spending refers to current spending of both governments and consumers.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

This statistic shows the ranking of the global top 10 health care equipment and services companies based on revenue, as of March 21, 2025. U.S. health care equipment and service company Centene was ranked fourth, with a total revenue of some 150 billion U.S. dollars.

According to a hospital ranking carried out in 2022 and based on seven different dimensions, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein was considered the hospital with the highest care quality in Latin America. Located in São Paulo - Brazil, this health institution reached a quality index score of 93.46. Hospital Sírio-Libanês also located in Brazil, ranked second, with a score of 71.75. Latin American hospitals and their capacity to host patients When it comes to hosting patients, hospitals Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Porto Alegre located in Brazil, and Sanatorio Guemes based in Argentina, ranked among the leading hospitals in Latin America as of 2022. It was estimated that Brazil and Argentina were the two Latin American countries with the highest number of hospital beds in the region in 2020, with more than 448,000 and 234,000 hospital beds, respectively. Public opinion on healthcare quality It was also Argentina that had the highest share of satisfied patients among a selection of countries in Latin America according to a 2023 survey, with 50 percent of interviewees stating they had accessed a good or very good healthcare service. Colombian patients followed, with four out of ten people satisfied with the healthcare received. Accordingly, a recent study estimated that nearly half of the population in Argentina and Colombia distrusted the healthcare system, with approximately 47 percent and 50 percent of respondents claiming they trust the health systems in their respective 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 ****** 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 **** 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 **** trillion dollars. Expenditure as a percentage of GDP is projected to increase to approximately ** 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 *** third of all health spending. Hospital care was followed by spending on physician and clinical services which accounted for ** percent of overall health expenditure.

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 ** 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 ** 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.

This statistic presents the value of the world's most valuable healthcare brands as of 2024. UnitedHealthcare was the ***** ranked among the most valuable healthcare brands in the world, with an estimated value of nearly ** billion U.S. dollars.

Ecuador's overall Global Health Security (GHS) Index score in 2021 was 50.8 out of 100 points, with 100 being the most favorable available score. The Latin American country was best rated for its health system, with a total of 56.7 points. Among the categories analyzed, rapid response was ranked the lowest, with a score of 42 index points.

According to the government artificial intelligence (AI) readiness index rankings, the United States (U.S.) is the highest-ranked country on the worldwide index in 2024, with an index score of *****. This means that the U.S. is considered the country best situated in the world to implement AI within public services, from healthcare to education to transportation. Other noteworthy countries with high indexes were Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and France coming in at second, third, and fourth respectively. China ranks **** on the index as it only measures AI readiness instead of AI implementation. Compared to many other countries that may score more highly for AI readiness, China is advanced in implementing AI capabilities to public services as it has made this a top government priority.

Pharmaceutical spending per capita in Canada stood at 1,035 U.S. dollars in 2023 (current prices). In comparison, the United States reported per capita spending of 1,564 U.S. dollars (in 2022). As for medical goods and services in general, the U.S. is among the countries with highest health costs worldwide. The higher costs in the United States are particularly obvious when compared to other high-income, developed countries. Higher drug prices in the U.S.Higher spending on pharmaceuticals is less impacted by higher drug usage by Americans and more by significantly higher drug prices in the United States. While in other countries, drug prices are regulated more or less by governments, the U.S. leaves drug pricing to market competition. As an outcome, the U.S. market is the most profitable for pharmaceutical companies. For example, the price for blockbuster drug Humira was six times higher in the United States than in Germany (2022). Rx drug usage in the U.S.Almost half of all Americans have taken at least one prescription medicine within the preceding month. Generally, women take more prescribed drugs than men, although the difference decreased significantly over the past two decades. In the United States, among the therapeutic areas where spending is the highest are antidiabetics, oncologics, autoimmune, and respiratory diseases. On the other hand, antihypertensives and mental health drugs are the leading classes based on number of prescriptions filled.

In the 2020-2021 global medical tourism ranking based on ** destinations, Canada came first with an index score of *****. The index is based on ratings of the destination environment, the medical tourism industry, and the quality of facilities and services. This statistic presents the leading 20 countries worldwide based on the total medical tourism index score in 2020.

In 2024, the average life expectancy in the world was 71 years for men and 76 years for women. The lowest life expectancies were found in Africa, while Oceania and Europe had the highest. What is life expectancy?Life expectancy is defined as a statistical measure of how long a person may live, based on demographic factors such as gender, current age, and most importantly the year of their birth. The most commonly used measure of life expectancy is life expectancy at birth or at age zero. The calculation is based on the assumption that mortality rates at each age were to remain constant in the future. Life expectancy has changed drastically over time, especially during the past 200 years. In the early 20th century, the average life expectancy at birth in the developed world stood at 31 years. It has grown to an average of 70 and 75 years for males and females respectively, and is expected to keep on growing with advances in medical treatment and living standards continuing. Highest and lowest life expectancy worldwide Life expectancy still varies greatly between different regions and countries of the world. The biggest impact on life expectancy is the quality of public health, medical care, and diet. As of 2022, the countries with the highest life expectancy were Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Australia, all at 84–83 years. Most of the countries with the lowest life expectancy are mostly African countries. The ranking was led by the Chad, Nigeria, and Lesotho with 53–54 years.

The United States is the leading country worldwide in terms of spending on research and development (R&D), with R&D expenditure exceeding *** billion purchasing power parity (PPP) U.S. dollars. China is invested about *** billion U.S. dollars into R&D. Health and technology Overall, health and technology dominate R&D spending globally. In 2022, health constituted nearly ** percent of all R&D spending, while hardware producers accounted for over ***percent and software producers accounted for over ***percent. Tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet contribute massively to tech spending, while spending continues to grow in areas such as medical technology and pharmaceuticals. Other sources of R&D spending Other sources of R&D spending include the automotive industry, chemicals, and manufacturing. Notably, within the automotive industry, the EU leads in spending, contributing nearly ** billion euros to the *** billion euros spent on automotive R&D globally. By company, Volkswagen spent the most at **** billion U.S. dollars, while in the United States, Ford spent the most on R&D at *** billion U.S. dollars.

According to a survey of practicing physicians in various countries worldwide, physicians in the United States have the highest overall income with approximately 353,000 U.S. dollars. Second highest on the list, surveyed Canadian physicians were paid on average 273,000 U.S. dollars. In all surveyed countries, female physicians earned consistently less than their male counterparts.

Among member countries of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Japan has the highest density of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units. Over 57 such units are available per every million of its population. The United States and Greece both follow with rates of around 38 per million inhabitants. Compared to these countries, Mexico had around three MRI units per every million, The density of diagnostic imaging units can be one measurement to define the quality of a country’s health care infrastructure. Why and when MRI is usedThe invention of MRI scanners revolutionized diagnostic imaging as it doesn’t use radiation, but a magnetic field and radio waves. Since ionized radiation as used in CT-scans and X-rays is potentially harmful for the patient, this includes a significant advantage for MRIs. MRI scans are principally used for imaging organs, soft tissues, ligaments, and other parts of the body which are difficult to see. While on the other hand, computer tomography (CT) scanners are more frequently used to show bony structures. Among the global top manufacturers of MRI scanners are General Electric, Siemens, Hitachi, and Philips. The costs of MRIA single scan per MRI could cost up to 4,000 U.S. dollars, and thus double the cost of a scan with CT. The purchase of an MRI scanner could be a major investment for a practice or a hospital, with prices ranging from 150 thousand dollars up to several million dollars. Of course, there are installation and maintenance costs to be taken into account as well. With nearly 40 million MRI scans performed annually in the United States, it’s clear that diagnostic imaging costs are substantial.