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Finland Health Expenditure per Capita in EUR (2023)

Finland's current health expenditure reached 5,116.7 EUR per inhabitant in 2023, up 9.7% year-on-year. Annual series 2005-2023, Eurostat (HLTH_SHA11_HF).

Data through 2023 Updated Annual Eurostat
Finland (2023)
5,116.7
EUR per inhabitant
+9.7% YoY
YoY Change
+9.7%
EUR per inhabitant
Trend
up
Series length
19
years of data

Data

Finland Health Expenditure per Capita in EUR (2023) — source data. Eurostat.
Year EUR per inhabitant YoY Change
2023 5,116.6 +9.7%
2022 4,666.1 +4.9%
2021 4,449 +7.3%
2020 4,146.6 +4.1%
2019 3,984.1 +4.1%
2018 3,827.6 +2.1%
2017 3,749.6 +1.0%
2016 3,712 -0.2%
2015 3,720.9 +0.4%
2014 3,705.4 +0.6%
2013 3,683.5 +3.5%
2012 3,559.5 +5.0%
2011 3,389.1 +5.7%
2010 3,207 +2.8%
2009 3,118.7 +2.2%
2008 3,050.3 +6.7%
2007 2,859.3 +5.1%
2006 2,719.8 +4.5%
2005 2,601.8 n/a

About this Dataset

Finland's current health expenditure reached 5,116.7 EUR per inhabitant in 2023, up 9.7% from 4,666.1 EUR the year before, a single-year increase of 450.5 EUR and the largest annual rise across the 19-year series Eurostat publishes for the country. Spending has grown by 2,514.9 EUR per inhabitant since 2005, and 970.0 EUR of that increase (well over a third) was added in just the three years from 2020 to 2023.

The figure is expressed in euro at current prices and market exchange rates, not purchasing power parity, and it covers current health expenditure across every financing scheme: public budgets, private insurance and out-of-pocket payments combined, not government spending alone. Cross-country and cross-currency comparisons should account for both before drawing conclusions about resourcing.

The series is published under Eurostat's System of Health Accounts framework. Key facts for anyone building on this data:

  • Unit: Euro (EUR) per inhabitant, current prices, market exchange rates
  • Definition: Current health expenditure by all financing schemes — government, private insurance, out-of-pocket and voluntary — excluding capital investment
  • Coverage: Finland, 2005–2023, annual frequency, 19 observations
  • Source series: Eurostat HLTH_SHA11_HF (health expenditure by financing scheme)
  • Access: Eurostat SDMX REST API
  • Methodology: System of Health Accounts 2011 (SHA 2011), harmonised for cross-country comparison

The growth path has two distinct phases. Between 2005 and 2016, spending rose in low single digits most years and posted the series' only decline, -0.2% in 2016, as Finland worked through the aftermath of the 2008–2009 financial crisis and the domestic downturn that followed it. From 2017 the pattern reversed: growth stepped up to +2.1% in 2018, held at +4.1% through both 2019 and 2020, jumped to +7.3% in 2021, then continued at +4.9% in 2022 and +9.7% in 2023.

For an analyst tracking Finland's health system over time, the level matters less than the trajectory: three straight years of spending growth above 4% (7.3% in 2021, 4.9% in 2022, 9.7% in 2023) mark the strongest sustained stretch in the 19-year series. The 2016 stall shows the series is cyclical rather than a one-way climb, so a single strong year like 2023 is best read against the full run rather than in isolation before it feeds into a fiscal-sustainability or healthcare-demand model.

Peer comparisons: Sweden · Norway · Denmark · Germany · France · Netherlands · Health spending per capita across Europe · Finland's spending as % of GDP

Frequently Asked Questions

Finland's current health expenditure per inhabitant rose from 4,146.6 EUR in 2020 to 4,449.0 EUR in 2021, 4,666.1 EUR in 2022 and 5,116.7 EUR in 2023. That is a gain of 970.0 EUR over the three years, with the increase accelerating each year - 4.1% in 2020, 7.3% in 2021, 4.9% in 2022 and 9.7% in 2023. Eurostat publishes the figures in euro per inhabitant at current prices, drawn from the HLTH_SHA11_HF health financing accounts. The full annual series runs back to 2005, giving 19 published observations for Finland.

The most recent published figure is 5,116.7 EUR per inhabitant in 2023, covering current health expenditure across all financing schemes - public, private insurance and out-of-pocket spending combined. The figure is expressed in euro at current prices and market exchange rates, not adjusted for purchasing power parity. It comes from Eurostat's HLTH_SHA11_HF dataset and is updated annually, typically with a lag of several months after the reference year.

5,116.7 EUR per inhabitant, up 9.7% from 4,666.1 EUR in 2022 - a single-year increase of 450.5 EUR, the largest annual rise recorded in the 19-year Eurostat series for Finland. It follows two other strong years, 2021's 7.3% and 2022's 4.9%, so 2023 extends rather than reverses a multi-year acceleration. 2023 is the latest year for which Eurostat has published a figure for Finland in this series.

Euros, at current prices and market exchange rates - not purchasing power parity. Eurostat's HLTH_SHA11_HF series reports current health expenditure per inhabitant in nominal euro terms, so the figures are directly comparable in currency value but do not adjust for differing price levels or wage costs between countries. Analysts comparing Finland against non-euro or lower-cost health systems should treat the euro figure as a spending measure rather than a resourcing-parity measure, since a euro buys different amounts of healthcare labour and equipment in different countries.

Current health expenditure covers spending on healthcare goods and services consumed within the year - hospital care, outpatient care, medicines, prevention and administration - financed by any combination of government budgets, statutory and private health insurance, and out-of-pocket household payments. It excludes capital investment such as new hospital construction or medical equipment purchases, which Eurostat tracks separately. The measure follows the System of Health Accounts 2011 (SHA 2011) framework, which is why it is comparable across the European countries that report to Eurostat under the same standard.

It has grown from 2,601.8 EUR per inhabitant in 2005 to 5,116.7 EUR in 2023, an increase of 2,514.9 EUR - roughly double over 19 years. Growth was gradual and occasionally flat through the mid-2010s, including the series' only annual decline, -0.2% in 2016, before re-accelerating from 2017 onward. The three years from 2021 to 2023 alone added 970.0 EUR, more than a third of the entire 19-year gain, in the fastest sustained stretch the series has recorded.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, publishes the series under dataset code HLTH_SHA11_HF via its SDMX REST API. It is updated annually, and the current release covers 2005 through 2023 - 19 observations for Finland. Eurostat typically publishes each reference year's figures several months after the year ends, which is why the most recent available data point lags the current date by more than a full year.

Growth has been uneven but consistently positive since 2017: 1.0% in 2017, 2.1% in 2018, 4.1% in both 2019 and 2020, 7.3% in 2021, 4.9% in 2022 and 9.7% in 2023. That run stands in contrast to 2005-2016, when growth was generally slower and included one outright decline, -0.2% in 2016. No year since 2017 has posted a decrease, making the last six years of data the most consistently strong stretch in the published series.
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Health Spending per Capita in Europe by Country

How Finland's 5,116.7 EUR per inhabitant ranks against 33 other European countries in 2023

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Finland Current Health Expenditure (% of GDP)

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Health Expenditure by Country (% GDP) — Global Comparison

Total current health expenditure as a percentage of GDP for 12 major economies from 2005 to 2022, sourced from World Bank WHO Global Health Expenditure Database (SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS). Covers both public and private spending and reveals structural differences in health system financing.

World Bank — WHO Global Health Expenditure Database (SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS) May 6, 2026