May 15, 2025

A new report issued May 6th by the World Health Organization finds that “underlying causes of ill health often stem from factors beyond the health sector, such as lack of quality housing, education and job opportunities.”

According to the WHO, the new World report on social determinants of health equity shows that “such determinants can be responsible for a dramatic reduction of healthy life expectancy – sometimes by decades – in high- and low-income countries alike. For example, people in the country with the lowest life expectancy will, on average, live 33 years shorter than those born in the country with the highest life expectancy. The social determinants of health equity can influence people’s health outcomes more than genetic influences or access to health care.”

The full World report on social determinants of health equity can be downloaded in full for free from the WHO website.

World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other OECD member nations.

Page last updated May 16, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.