Hungary: Health System Expenditures

Current health expenditure (CHE) per capita in US$, 2022: $1,224.43

Source: Global Health Observatory. Current health expenditure (CHE) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$, 2022: $297.17

Source: Global Health Observatory. Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2022: 24.27%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2022: 27.66%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) per capita in US$, 2022: $338.72

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2022: 72.34%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) (%), 2022: 4.84%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) per capita in US$, 2022: $885.72

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 23, 2025.

Health expenditure per capita, USD PPP, 2022
– Government/compulsory: $2,055
– Voluntary/Out-of-pocket: $785
– Total: $2,840
Health expenditure as a share of GDP, 2022
– Government/compulsory: 4.9%
– Voluntary/out-of-pocket: 1.9%
Health expenditure by type of financing, 2021
– Government schemes: 15%
– Compulsory health insurance: 58%
– Voluntary health insurance: 2%
– Out-of-pocket: 25%
– Other: 1%
Out-of-pocket spending on health as share of final household consumption, 2021: 3.9%
Price levels in the healthcare sector, 2021 (OECD average = 100): 31
Population reporting unmet needs for medical care, by income level, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 1.5%
– Highest quintile: 0.7%
– Total: 1.2%
Main reason for reporting unmet needs for medical care, 2021
– Waiting list: 0.9%
– Too expensive: 0.2%
– Too far to travel: 0.1%
Population reporting unmet needs for dental care, by income level, 2021
– Lowest quintile: 1.5%
– Highest quintile: 0.4%
– Total: 0.8%
Expenditure on retail pharmaceuticals per capita, USD PPP, 2021
– Prescription medicines: $596
– Total: $596
Expenditure on retail pharmaceuticals by type of financing, 2021:
– Government/compulsory schemes: 45%
– Voluntary health insurance schemes: 3%
– Out-of-pocket spending: 52%
– Other: 0%
Total long-term care spending as a share of GDP, 2021: 0.7%
Long-term care workers per 100 people aged 65 and over, 2021: 1.8
Average hourly wages of personal care workers, as a share of economy-wide average wage, 2018
– Residential (facility-based) care: 65%
– Home-based care: 63%

Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.

Population with household expenditures on health >10% of total household expenditure or income, 2014-2021: 12.3%
Population with household expenditures on health >25% of total household expenditure or income, 2014-2021: 0.9%
Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of general government expenditure (GGE), 2021: 11.0%

Source: World health statistics 2024: monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: Statistical Annex. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Last accessed May 28, 2024.

Annual household out-of-pocket payment in current USD per capita, 2020: $297

Source: Global Health Expenditure Database. Health expenditure series. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed May 13, 2023.

Total Health Spending, USD PPP Per Capita (2021): $2,748.63

(Note: “Health spending measures the final consumption of health care goods and services (i.e. current health expenditure) including personal health care (curative care, rehabilitative care, long-term care, ancillary services and medical goods) and collective services (prevention and public health services as well as health administration), but excluding spending on investments. Health care is financed through a mix of financing arrangements including government spending and compulsory health insurance (“Government/compulsory”) as well as voluntary health insurance and private funds such as households’ out-of-pocket payments, NGOs and private corporations (“Voluntary”). This indicator is presented as a total and by type of financing (“Government/compulsory”, “Voluntary”, “Out-of-pocket”) and is measured as a share of GDP, as a share of total health spending and in USD per capita (using economy-wide PPPs).”

Source: OECD (2023), Health spending (indicator). doi: 10.1787/8643de7e-en (Accessed on 29 October 2023).

“In recent years, Hungary has seen an increase in the rate of health expenditure growth: in 2013-19, the average annual growth rate in health spending per capita was 2.9 % compared to negative growth of -0.5 % in 2008-13.

“Despite this recent growth, health expenditure per capita is less than half the EU average after adjusting for differences in purchasing power (Figure 8). Health spending as a proportion of GDP is also relatively low, at 6.4 % compared to 9.9 % across the EU as a whole. This result may, however, be explained in part by Hungary’s relatively high rate of GDP growth in recent years.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2021), Hungary: Country Health Profile 2021, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“Government transfers and compulsory contributions from employers and employees account for 68.3 % of all health spending in Hungary, which is lower than the EU average of 79.8 %. Contributions from employers are part of a larger social contribution tax, which also covers the pension fund. The increasing share of direct government transfers into the health insurance fund allowed the government to set its priorities freely and exert greater control over expenditure. This did not resolve the inherit instability of health care system funding, which was characterised by long periods of austerity and short periods of overspending, usually in election years (Szigeti et al., 2019). On the other hand, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this system enabled the government to inject additional funds into the health care system. On 4 April 2020, the government announced a Pandemic Protection Fund of HUF 663 billion (EUR 1.8 billion) to support the health care system. Financing for this fund largely came from budget reallocations from other ministries. The fund covered COVID-19-related costs, including a one-time bonus for health care workers of HUF 500 000 (EUR 1 362).”

Hungary: Health System Expenditures - spending, out of pocket, private expenditures, general government expenditures - National Policies - World Health Systems Facts

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 nations.

Page last updated February 21, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.