Download image

Government spending on health has grown substantially across rich nations since 1990, with particularly steep increases in the United States. The chart shows healthcare spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) in four countries.

Japan and the UK saw their share more than double, while it more than tripled in the United States, from 4.5% to 16% of GDP. The rising costs partly reflect demographic change, as older populations typically need more medical care, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each country organizes healthcare differently. Germany requires everyone to buy insurance from regulated providers, while Japan gives everyone government insurance. The United Kingdom provides healthcare directly through its national health service, while the US combines private insurance with government coverage for the elderly and those on low incomes.

Explore government health spending for more countries →

Download image

The chart shows health expenditure per person for G7 countries; the data is adjusted for differences in living costs between countries.

The US spends much more on healthcare per person than any other G7 nation: $12,000 in 2021. This is more than 50% higher than Germany, the next-highest spender.

Japan and Italy spend just $4,700 and $4,400 per person at the lowest end — slightly over one-third of US spending.

Despite spending much more on healthcare, the United States has the lowest life expectancy in the G7. This is due to a combination of higher death rates from smoking, obesity, homicides, opioid overdoses, road accidents, and infant mortality.

Explore health expenditure per person for other countries →

Download image

Rich countries spend, on average, the equivalent of $6,200 per person on healthcare. This includes public and private expenditures.

In low-income countries, the equivalent expenditure is only around $100 per person on average.

This is based on spending data from the World Health Organization’s Global Health Observatory, which you can see in the chart across levels of income.

That means rich countries spend 60 times as much on healthcare per person as the poorest countries. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that life expectancy and other essential health outcomes are far worse in low-income countries.

Explore more data and research on healthcare spending and outcomes →

Download image

There are considerable differences in access to healthcare across the world.

Rich countries have around ten times as many doctors per person as poor countries. You can see this in this chart, which shows the number of medical doctors per 1,000 people in a population. This includes generalist physicians as well as specialists.

The global average is around 1.7 doctors per 1,000. In low-income countries, the figure is around five times lower.

Explore more data on healthcare spending and access →