Skip to content
World Health Systems Facts

National Health Systems

Austria

Czech Republic

Germany

Japan

Spain

United Kingdom

Canada

Denmark

Hungary

Netherlands

Sweden

United States

Costa Rica

France

Italy

South Korea

Switzerland


National sections include detailed subsections on each nation’s health system, population health coverage, health system expenditures, financing, costs to consumers, outcomes, and much more. These include Beveridge-model systems (e.g. Sweden, UK); Bismarck-model systems (e.g. Germany, Japan); hybrid “Bev-Marck” systems (e.g. Austria, Costa Rica); and national health insurance model systems (e.g. Canada, South Korea).

Several attempts have been made to compare and rank national health systems, most notably the Health Access and Quality (HAQ) Index and the Sustainable Development Goals Health Index. For more information on those, see our section on Comparing National Health Systems.


Table comparing some basic facts about national health systems in the US and 16 other countries. Data for this table at https://healthsystemsfacts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/comparisontable02.csv

“The level of per capita health spending, which covers both individual and population health care needs, and how this changes over time, depends on a wide range of demographic, social and economic factors, as well as the financing and organisational arrangements of the health system.

“In 2019, average per capita health spending in OECD countries (when adjusted for differences in purchasing power) was estimated to be more than USD 4,000, while in the United States it reached the equivalent of almost USD 11,000 for every US citizen. Switzerland, the next highest spender among OECD countries, had health expenditure of around two‑thirds of this level (Figure 7.4). In addition to Switzerland, only a handful of high-income OECD countries, including Germany, Norway and Sweden, spent more than half of the US spending on health, while others, such as Japan and the United Kingdom, were around the OECD average. Lowest per capita spenders on health among OECD member countries were Colombia, Turkey and Mexico, with health expenditure of around a quarter of the OECD average. Latest available estimates show that per capita spending in China was just under 20% of the OECD average, while both India and Indonesia spent between 6% and 8% of this figure.

“Figure 7.4 also shows the split of health spending based on the type of health care coverage – organised either through government health schemes or compulsory insurance (public or private), or through a voluntary arrangement such as private voluntary health insurance or direct payments by households (see indicator “Health expenditure by financing schemes”). Across OECD countries, more than 76% of all health spending is financed through government or compulsory insurance schemes. In the United States, since the introduction of the Affordable Care Act in 2014, this share stands at 85%, reflecting the existence of an individual mandate to purchase health insurance. Federal and state programmes such as Medicaid and Medicare continue to play an important role in purchasing health care.

“Between 2015 and 2019, average per capita spending on health care grew by an average of 2.7% across OECD countries (Figure 7.5). This compares with the low growth rates experienced in many countries in the years immediately following the global financial and economic crisis. In the 2015‑19 period, average annual growth of less than 1% was still seen in France, Greece and Mexico, while the Baltic countries and Korea continued to show strong average growth above 5%. With the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic in 2020, preliminary estimates for a subset of OECD countries point to a sharp increase in overall health spending of around 4.7%, on average. This increase would represent the highest growth in average per capita health spending for around 15 years.”

Source: OECD (2021), Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en.


“Japan, Switzerland and Spain lead a large group of 27 OECD countries in which life expectancy at birth exceeded 80 years in 2019. A second group, including the United States and a number of central and eastern European countries, had a life expectancy between 77 and 80 years. Mexico and Latvia had the lowest life expectancy, at less than 76 years. In general, life expectancy has increased for most of the last half-century, despite some slowdown in longevity gain in recent years. However, COVID‑19 has had a dramatic effect, with life expectancy in 2020 falling for 24 of 30 OECD countries with comparable data.

“Avoidable mortality rates (from preventable and treatable causes) in 2019 were lowest in Luxembourg, where less than 100 per 100,000 people died prematurely. Avoidable mortality rates were also relatively low (under 150 per 100,000 people) in Switzerland, Israel, Iceland, Japan, Italy, Korea, Australia, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands and Norway. Latvia, Hungary, Mexico, Lithuania and the Slovak Republic had the highest avoidable mortality rates, at over 300 premature deaths per 100,000 people.

“Diabetes prevalence in 2019 was highest in Mexico, Turkey, the United States and Germany, with over 10% of adults living with diabetes (age‑standardised data). Prevalence rates have stabilised in many OECD countries, especially in Western Europe, but increased markedly in Turkey. Such upward trends are due in part to rising rates of obesity and physical inactivity.

“Almost 9% of adults considered themselves to be in bad health in 2019, on average across the OECD. This ranged from over 15% in Latvia, Korea, Lithuania and Portugal to under 3% in Colombia, New Zealand and Canada. However, socio-cultural differences, the share of older people and differences in survey design affect cross-country comparability. People with lower incomes are generally less positive about their health as compared with people on higher incomes, in all OECD countries.”

Source: OECD (2021), Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en.


Breaking News

  • Oregon Becomes First US State To Guarantee Its Residents Access To Affordable Healthcare January 20, 2023
    January 20, 2023In the November 2022 general election, Oregon voters narrowly approved Oregon Measure 111, the Right to Healthcare Amendment. The measure amended the state constitution, adding a guarantee of access to affordable healthcare for all Oregon residents. According to Ballotpedia, last accessed Jan. 20, 2023: “Ballot title “The ballot title was as follows:“Amends Constitution: State must ...
  • Massive Savings Possible In US Health System October 21, 2021
    October 21, 2021The management consulting firm McKinsey & Company has issued a new report estimating that administrative changes and efficiencies could save the US health system more than a quarter trillion dollars. As noted in a Viewpoint article published in JAMA on October 20:“The analysis dissected profit and loss statements of individual health care organizations, estimated ...
  • Health Care in the US Compared to Other High-Income Countries August 6, 2021
    On August 4, the Commonwealth Fund issued a new report entitled Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly / Health Care in the US Compared to Other High-Income Countries.The report compares health care systems in eleven nations: the United States, Canada, Switzerland, France, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, and Norway.The report’s key ...
  • Medical Debt in Collections in the US August 6, 2021
    On July 20, JAMA published an article on medical debt in collections in the US entitled “Medical Debt in the US, 2009-2020.”The researchers found: “In this retrospective analysis of credit reports for a nationally representative 10% panel of individuals, an estimated 17.8% of individuals in the US had medical debt in collections in June 2020 ...

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 August 24, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.

  • Home
  • About Health Systems Facts
    • Contact Us
    • Join Our Email List
  • Breaking News & Opinion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Seventeen National Health Systems
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • Costa Rica
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Germany
    • Hungary
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Netherlands
    • South Korea
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Comparing National Health Systems
    • Healthcare Access and Quality Index
    • Sustainable Development Goals Health Index
    • Mirror Mirror 2021
    • World Health Report 2000
    • International Health Systems In Perspective
    • Lessons for US Health Reform
  • Aging
  • Health System Outcomes
  • Healthcare Spending
  • Healthcare Workers
    • Health System Personnel
    • Health Workforce Training
  • Information and Communications Technologies
  • Long-Term Services and Supports
  • People With Disabilities
  • Pharmaceutical Pricing and Regulation
  • Social Determinants & Health Equity
  • Wasteful Spending
  • Various US Health System Proposals
    • Affordable Care Act
    • All Payer
    • Public Option
    • Single Payer / “Medicare For All”
    • Universal Health Coverage
  • Recommended Resources
  • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

© 2019-2022 Real Reporting Foundation | Theme by WordPress Theme Detector

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
_GRECAPTCHA5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-71314304-21 minuteThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gcl_au3 monthsThis cookie is used by Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the website.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo