Hospital Beds Per 1,000 Population (2019): 3.16
Nurse-To-Hospital-Bed Ratio (Head Count) (2019): 1.42
Doctors Consultations (In All Settings) (Number Per Capita) (2019): 10.4
Hospital Average Length of Stay (All Causes) (2019): 8 Days
Computed Tomography Scanners (Per Million Population) (2019): 36.46
Magnetic Imaging Resonance Units (Per Million Population) (2019): 30.22
Mammographs (Per Million Population) (2019): 34.52

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed June 16, 2022.

“Prior to the pandemic, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 population had remained stable at 3.2 in Italy between 2014 and 2019, which is considerably below the EU average of 5.3. There are large regional differences: southern regions generally have lower capacity, at 2.4 beds per 1,000 population in 2019, compared to 3.4 beds per 1,000 population in the northern part of Italy. The stable number of hospitals has been accompanied by a sharp reduction in hospital discharges. In 2019, the hospital discharge rate in Italy was the third lowest in the EU after the Netherlands and Portugal. The discharge rate decreased by 18 % between 2010 and 2019.

“On the other hand, the average length of stay has increased slightly since 2010, while it has decreased in most EU countries: in 2019 the average length of stay in hospital in Italy was 8.0 days – higher than the EU average (7.4 days). The slight increase in Italy may be due to a substitution of low-intensity inpatient care with ambulatory care and home care. Therefore, the remaining inpatient cases are more complex and have longer stays on average.”

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

“Accredited private hospital beds account for 28% of the total number of beds, but there are great differences in the geographical distribution of private beds among Italy’s 20 regions, with Lombardy and Lazio having a larger share of private beds (Ministry of Health, 2009).”

Source: Francesca Ferré. “Italy.” In Voluntary health insurance in Europe: Country experience [Internet]. Sagan A, Thomson S, editors. Copenhagen (Denmark): European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies; 2016. Observatory Studies Series, No. 42.

“The importance of medical technology has generally grown over time. The number of MRI units, CT scanners and PET units is constantly rising, doubling between 2000 and 2011 in the case of CT scanners and more than tripling in the case of MRI units (Table 4.1). In 2011 there were 30.4 CT scanners per million population and almost 20 MRI units per million population available in hospital (including public, private accredited and non-accredited providers) and ambulatory settings (public and private accredited providers) (OECD, 2014b). However, the diffusion of medical technology is not evenly distributed across the country. Some regions, such as Liguria, the central regions, as well as Molise, Basilicata and Sardinia have high levels (higher than the national average) of technologies available in public facilities while others in the south have constantly lower levels (Campania, Puglia, Calabria and Sicily).”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Italy: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

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

Page last updated Sept. 20, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.