Healthcare spending in the United Kingdom (UK) as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP) has increased since 1990, when it was 5.1 percent. By 2024, healthcare expenditure in the UK amounted to 11.1 percent of the GDP. Health expenditure in the UK compared to Europe  In comparison to other European countries in 2023, the UK ranked fifth highest in terms of healthcare spending as a share of the GDP. Top of the list was Germany, which spent 12.3 percent of its GDP on healthcare in this year. This was followed by Austria and Switzerland, which spent 11.8 percent and 11.7 percent on health, respectively. Performance of the NHS in the UK 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.   

In 2024, the annual spending on public healthcare in the United Kingdom (UK) accounted for *** percent of GDP. This is an increase from *** percent in 2023. Total spending on health in the UK In total, approximately *** billion British pounds were spent on healthcare in the UK in 2024. Although, spending as a share of GDP decreased from 2009 to 2019, the total spending on health has continued to increase. Broken down by function, the UK government spent *** billion pounds on curative/rehabilitative care. Performance of the NHS in the UK Waiting times have been getting worse in the A&E department over the years. The NHS has been falling behind the target that ** percent of patients should be seen within * 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.

Among OECD member countries, the United States had the ******* percentage of gross domestic product spent on health care as of 2024. The U.S. spent nearly **** percent of its GDP on health care services. Germany, Austria, and Germany 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 more than ***** 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 compared to other wealthy countries.

Healthcare spending in the United Kingdom stood at 317 billion British pounds in 2024. When looking at real healthcare expenditure*, spending already exceeded this amount in 2021, where it reached 324 billion British pounds in 2024 prices. Health expenditure in the UK compared to Europe In 2024, 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 top of the list was Switzerland, which spent 12 percent of its GDP on healthcare that year.  Performance of the NHS in the UK 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.

This statistic displays the share of GDP spent on the National Health Service (NHS) and adult social care in the United Kingdom, forecast from 2015/16 to 2030/31. In 2015/16 the share of GDP forecast to be spent on the NHS and adult social care amounts to *** percent.

The healthcare spending growth rate in the United Kingdom (UK) has experienced fluctuations since 1998. Then, the healthcare spending growth rate was 6.5 percent and by 2020 the healthcare spending growth was highest at 13.2 percent. 2002 saw the second highest healthcare spending growth rate at 9.9 percent. In 2023, the growth rate was 5.9 percent, a significant increase from the preceding year. Health expenditure in the UK compared to Europe In 2023, the UK spent just 10.9 percent of its GDP on healthcare. In comparison to other European countries, this ranked the UK fifth in terms of health expenditure in 2023. Top of the list was Switzerland, which spent 12 percent of its GDP on healthcare in this year. Consequences from low spending growth? 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.

Healthcare spending in the United Kingdom (UK) in both sectors has increased since 1997, although spending in the public sector has increased at a faster rate. By 2018, public healthcare expenditure in the UK stood at to 149.5 billion British pounds, compared to 34.5 billion British pounds in the private sector.

Health expenditure in the UK compared to Europe 

In 2019, the UK spent just over ten percent of its GDP on healthcare. In comparison to other European countries, this ranked the UK seventh in terms of health expenditure in 2019. Top of the list was Switzerland, which spent 12.1 percent of its’ GDP on healthcare in this year.  

Performance of the public health sector in UK 

The majority of people questioned in a survey 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.   

London was the city in the United Kingdom with the highest costs for constructing a general hospital in 2024. Meanwhile, among cities included in this selection, Leeds was the cheapest one to build that kind of structure. The expenses of such a construction in London were over *** British pounds higher than in Glasgow. The capital of the UK is the most expensive area for public building construction. Hospital bed numbers still in decline The number of hospital beds in the UK has been declining since 2000. Between 2000 and 2020, figures decreased from ******* to ******* number of beds. The reduction in hospital beds is, among other reasons, attributed to technical improvements in surgery rooms, patients with mental health problems being treated in different settings, and most importantly, cuts to NHS funding. However, the number of beds increased slightly again in 2021 and 2022. Increased healthcare spend Despite past funding cuts and declining availability of hospital beds, healthcare spending has significantly increased in the past twenty years. In 2022, expenditure reached a peak of nearly *** billion British pounds, whereas in 2000, this figure amounted to ** billion British pounds. The value of healthcare expenditure as a share of GDP also increased significantly in the past years.

In 2023, there were an estimated 1,850 hospitals in the United Kingdom. The number of hospitals in the UK had been declining prior to 2015, standing at 1,568 in 2014, before slightly rising again in the subsequent years. Healthcare indicators Expenditure on health in the UK amounted to 10.9 percent of the GDP in 2023. This proportion has been increasing since 2000, with 2020 and 2021 being outliers. The pressure on general practices has been increasing in the UK in the last ten years. In 2016, there were 7.8 thousand patients to each GP practice on average in the NHS England. By 2023 it came to over 10.2 thousand patients to a practice. Opinion of healthcare in the country The quality of British healthcare is decreasing. In a survey of 12 European countries, only 50 percent of British respondents rated the quality of their accessible healthcare as good/very good, while nearly 20 percent regarded it as poor/very poor. This was the fifth place among countries surveyed, down from its top spot in 2018, when 73 percent of the public gave good ratings. Similarly, only 51 percent of Brits surveyed trusted that they received the best treatment offered, compared to 19 percent who did not.