Australia (2025, estimated)
8,170.6
USD PPP per capita
+3.6% YoY
Government share
73.1
% of total (2025)
Private share
26.9
% of total (2025)
10-year change
+71.8
% since 2015

Data

Current Health Expenditure per Capita in Australia (2025) — source data. OECD.
Year USD PPP per capita YoY Change
2025 8,170.6 +3.6%
2024 7,884.9 +4.1%
2023 7,574.1 +8.5%
2022 6,982.3 +5.9%
2021 6,592.3 +12.6%
2020 5,855.2 +10.9%
2019 5,280.9 +1.0%
2018 5,226.1 +2.9%
2017 5,077.5 +0.8%
2016 5,037.4 +5.9%
2015 4,755.7 +4.4%
2014 4,556.5 +11.5%
2013 4,087.8 +6.1%
2012 3,854.2 +1.2%
2011 3,809.1 +6.0%
2010 3,592.9 +5.2%
2009 3,415 +1.9%
2008 3,350.1 +4.7%
2007 3,199.6 +6.7%
2006 2,997.9 +4.4%
2005 2,872.4 n/a

About this Dataset

Australia recorded 8,170.6 USD PPP per capita in current health expenditure in 2025, an OECD estimate up +285.7 from 2024's estimated figure of 7,884.9. Spending has grown in most years since 2005, when the series started at 2,872.4 USD PPP, with the steepest jump (+737.1) coming in 2021 as the health system absorbed pandemic-related costs.

Government and compulsory insurance schemes covered about 73.1% of total spending in 2025 (5,973.7 USD PPP per capita), with voluntary insurance and household out-of-pocket payments making up the remaining 26.9% (2,196.8 USD PPP). The government-funded share has climbed fairly steadily from around 68% in the mid-2000s, likely reflecting broadening Medicare and pharmaceutical subsidy coverage rather than a single policy shift.

Compared with OECD peers, Australia's per-capita spending was roughly 1.3 times the unweighted OECD average (about 6,096.6 USD PPP in 2024) and typically above other large, high-income economies such as Canada (7,372.3), the United Kingdom (7,008.3), and New Zealand (6,067.1) in 2024, while sitting well below the United States (14,823.1), Switzerland (9,926.7), and Germany (9,584.3). The chart above shows the full 2005–2025 trend; the table below lists annual values with year-on-year changes.

Data sourced from the OECD System of Health Accounts (SHA) via SDMX REST API, filtered to Australia (AUS), total current health expenditure (HC), converted to USD at purchasing power parity. The 2024 and 2025 figures are flagged as OECD estimates and may be revised.

Frequently Asked Questions

This indicator tracks total current spending on health care per person in Australia, converted to USD at purchasing power parity (PPP) so levels are comparable across countries. It covers spending by government, private insurers, and households, published annually by the OECD under its System of Health Accounts (SHA). The most recent reading is 8,170.6 USD PPP in 2025 (an OECD estimate).

The series runs through 2025, though both 2024 and 2025 are flagged as OECD estimates. The last fully finalized observation is 2023, at 7,574.1 USD PPP per capita. Estimated years are typically revised as national health accounts are finalized, so the 2024 and 2025 figures may shift in future OECD updates.

At 7,884.9 USD PPP in 2024, Australia's spending ran roughly 1.3 times the unweighted OECD average of about 6,096.6 USD PPP that year across 38 member countries, ranking Australia around 11th highest. It sat below the highest-spending economies such as the United States (14,823.1 USD PPP), Switzerland (9,926.7 USD PPP), and Germany (9,584.3 USD PPP) in 2024, but typically above other large economies including Canada (7,372.3 USD PPP), the United Kingdom (7,008.3 USD PPP), and New Zealand (6,067.1 USD PPP).

In 2025, government and compulsory schemes covered an estimated 5,973.7 USD PPP per capita (about 73.1% of the total), with voluntary insurance and household out-of-pocket payments accounting for roughly 2,196.8 USD PPP (about 26.9%). The government share has risen fairly steadily from around 68% in the mid-2000s to about 73% most recently, likely reflecting expanded Medicare and pharmaceutical subsidy coverage over the period.

Per-capita spending has risen in most years since 2005, from 2,872.4 USD PPP that year to 8,170.6 USD PPP in 2025 — an increase of roughly 184% over two decades, and +71.8% just since 2015. The largest single-year jump was +737.1 USD PPP in 2021, likely reflecting pandemic-related health outlays including vaccine rollout and deferred-care catch-up.