Health Spending in Europe by Country (2023)
Current health expenditure as a share of GDP across 32 European countries in 2023: Germany highest at 11.7%, Liechtenstein lowest at 5.5%. Eurostat system of health accounts.
Data
| # | Country | % of GDP | Change vs 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 11.7 | -0.7pp |
| 2 | France | 11.5 | -0.4pp |
| 3 | Switzerland | 11.3 | +0.1pp |
| 4 | Sweden | 11.2 | +0.3pp |
| 5 | Austria | 11.2 | unchanged |
| 6 | Belgium | 10.8 | unchanged |
| 7 | Finland | 10.5 | +0.7pp |
| 8 | Netherlands | 10 | unchanged |
| 9 | Portugal | 10 | -0.6pp |
| 10 | Denmark | 9.6 | unchanged |
| 11 | Montenegro | 9.5 | -0.7pp |
| 12 | Slovenia | 9.3 | -0.3pp |
| 13 | Spain | 9.2 | -0.4pp |
| 14 | Malta | 8.7 | -0.6pp |
| 15 | Iceland | 8.6 | -0.3pp |
| 16 | Greece | 8.4 | -0.1pp |
| 17 | Czechia | 8.4 | -0.1pp |
| 18 | Italy | 8.4 | -0.5pp |
| 19 | Serbia | 8 | -0.6pp |
| 20 | Bulgaria | 7.9 | +0.3pp |
| 21 | Cyprus | 7.8 | -0.3pp |
| 22 | Estonia | 7.4 | +0.5pp |
| 23 | Slovakia | 7.4 | -0.3pp |
| 24 | Lithuania | 7.3 | unchanged |
| 25 | Latvia | 7.2 | -0.9pp |
| 26 | Poland | 7.1 | +0.5pp |
| 27 | Croatia | 7 | -0.3pp |
| 28 | Hungary | 6.4 | -0.3pp |
| 29 | Ireland | 6.3 | +0.4pp |
| 30 | Romania | 5.8 | -0.1pp |
| 31 | Luxembourg | 5.6 | unchanged |
| 32 | Liechtenstein | 5.5 | -0.1pp |
About this Dataset
Current health expenditure ranges from 11.7% of GDP in Germany to 5.5% in Liechtenstein, against a panel average of 8.6%. That average held at 8.6% for a second year, having already given back most of its 2020–21 rise.
Share of GDP and spending per person answer different questions. The first measures the claim health makes on the economy; the second measures what is actually available per patient. Romania scores far better on the first than on the second.
Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Austria lead the table, all above 11% of GDP. What they have in common is an old population and comprehensive coverage rather than a single financing model. Germany and France run social insurance, Sweden a tax-funded service, Switzerland compulsory private insurance. At the bottom, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Romania and Ireland spend under 7% of GDP, though for different reasons: Luxembourg and Ireland have GDP denominators that flatter them, while in Romania and the other eastern European members the low figure is real and a high share of it is paid directly by patients. Out-of-pocket financing is the arrangement most associated with people going without care.
Every row is the figure published for 2023; no value is carried over from an adjacent year to fill a gap. Norway has not published a 2023 figure and is left out rather than carried forward from an older year. The chart tracks a fixed panel of 28 countries: those reporting in every year from 2013. The line therefore moves because the countries moved, not because the sample changed. Figures follow the System of Health Accounts (SHA 2011) and cover current expenditure only, excluding capital investment.
Country pages: Germany · France · Switzerland · Sweden · Austria · Belgium · Finland · Netherlands · Portugal · Denmark · Montenegro · Slovenia · Spain · Malta · Iceland · Greece · Czechia · Italy · Serbia · Bulgaria · Cyprus · Estonia · Slovakia · Lithuania · Latvia · Poland · Croatia · Hungary · Ireland · Romania · Luxembourg · Liechtenstein