Skip to content
World Health Systems Facts

Spain: Health System Costs for Consumers

Spain: Health System Costs for Consumers - Healthcare - National Policies - World Health Systems Facts

Spanish Health System Overview
Health System Rankings
Health System Outcomes
Coverage and Access
Costs for Consumers
Health System Expenditures
Health System Financing
Preventive Healthcare

Healthcare Workers
Healthcare Workforce Education and Training
Health System Physical Resources and Utilization
Long-Term Services and Supports
Health Information and Communications Technologies
Pharmaceuticals

Political System
Economic System
Population Demographics
People With Disabilities
Aging
Social Determinants and Health Equity
Health System History
Reforms and Challenges
Wasteful Spending


Current health expenditure (CHE) per capita in US$, 2023: $3,106.62

Source: Global Health Observatory. Current health expenditure (CHE) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed July 1, 2026.


Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) per capita in US$, 2023: $833.08

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed July 1, 2026.


Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2023: 26.82%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Domestic private health expenditure (PVT-D) as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed July 1, 2026.


Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$, 2023: $647.90

Source: Global Health Observatory. Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) per capita in US$. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed July 1, 2026.


Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%), 2023: 20.86%

Source: Global Health Observatory. Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure (CHE) (%). Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed July 1, 2026.


Proportion of population with positive out-of-pocket household expenditures on health exceeding 40 per cent of household discretionary budget (%), 2016-2024: 12.71%

Source: World health statistics 2026: Monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Tables of health statistics by country and area, WHO region and globally (last accessed May 13, 2026). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2026. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.


Out-of-pocket spending as a share of final household consumption (%), 2023: 3.5%
Composition of out-of-pocket spending on health, by type of service (%), 2023
– Medical goods (including pharmaceuticals and therapeutic appliances): 50%
– Outpatient: 10%
– Dental: 32%
– Inpatient: 1%
– Long-term care: 6%
– Other (includes preventive care, administrative services, and services unknown): 0%
Health expenditure as a share of Gross Domestic Product (% of GDP) (OECD estimate), 2024
– Government/compulsory: 6.68%
– Voluntary/out-of-pocket: 2.49%
– Total: 9.17%
Health expenditure per capita (USD PPP) (OECD estimate), 2024:
– Government/compulsory: $3,893.38
– Voluntary/out-of-pocket: $1,452.27
– Total: $5,345.60
Comparative price levels in the health sector, 2023 (OECD average = 100): 66.7
Health expenditure by type of financing (%), 2023
– Government schemes: 69.5%
– Compulsory health insurance: 3.7%
– Voluntary health insurance: 5.5%
– Out-of-pocket: 20.9%
– Other (refers to financing by NGOs, employers, non-resident schemes, and unknown schemes): 0.4%
Expenditure on retail pharmaceuticals by type of financing (%), 2023
– Government / compulsory schemes: 70.05%
– Voluntary health insurance schemes: 0%
– Out-of-pocket: 29.95%
– Other: 0%

Source: OECD (2025), Health at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/8f9e3f98-en.


Annual household out-of-pocket payment in current USD per capita, 2020: $569

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


“Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments increased steadily between 2010 and 2014, before falling slightly since 2015 to reach 24 % of total health expenditure in 2017. This is well above the EU average of 16 %. OOP payments mainly consist of co-payments for pharmaceuticals and medical devices outside hospitals. After the 2012 reform, the level of cost-sharing for pharmaceuticals was increased and based on income level and employment status, including a monthly spending cap to protect pensioners (Section 5.2).”

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


“Public expenditure represents 71.1% of total health expenditure; this percentage decreased from 1995 to 2005 (from 72.2% to 70.6%), increased between 2005 and 2010 (up to 74.4%) and dropped again until 2015 (71.1%). In turn, private expenditure on health (as a percentage of total health expenditure) followed a U-shaped progression over the period, with a strong change in trend in 2010. Since then, this share increased to 28.9% in 2015. Voluntary health insurance, as part of private expenditure on health, grew from 1995 to 2005 (12.1% to 18.9%), decreasing thereafter and reaching 14.9% in 2015. Out-of-pocket (OOP) spending as a percentage of total health expenditure decreased until 2010 (from 23.5% to 22.1%), increasing again thereafter (to 23.9% in 2015) (MSSSI, 2017g).”

Source: Bernal-Delgado E, García-Armesto S, Oliva J, Sánchez Martínez FI, Repullo JR, PeñaLongobardo LM, Ridao-López M, Hernández-Quevedo C. Spain: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2018;20(2):1–179.


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 eighteen other nations.

Page last updated September 24, 2026 by Doug McVay, Editor.

  • Home
  • Breaking News and Opinion
  • Nineteen National Health Systems
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • Costa Rica
    • Czechia
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Germany
    • Hungary
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Netherlands
    • New Zealand
    • South Korea
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Comparing National Health Systems
    • Commonwealth Foundation: Mirror Mirror 2024
    • Healthcare Access and Quality Index
    • Sustainable Development Goals Health Index
    • International Health Systems In Perspective
    • Lessons for US Health Reform
    • World Health Report
  • Aging
  • Coverage and Equitable Access
  • Health System Outcomes
  • Healthcare Costs For Consumers
  • Healthcare Expenditures
  • Healthcare System Financing
  • Healthcare Workforce
    • Healthcare Workers
    • Healthcare Workforce Education and Training
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Long-Term Services and Supports
  • People With Disabilities
  • Pharmaceutical Pricing and Regulation
  • Preventive Healthcare
  • Reforms and Challenges
  • Resources and Utilization
  • Social Determinants and Health Equity
  • Best Practices
  • Waste and Fraud
  • Various US Health System Proposals
    • Affordable Care Act
    • All Payer
    • Public Option
    • Single Payer / Medicare For All
    • Universal Health Coverage
  • Recommended Resources
  • About World Health Systems Facts
    • Contact Us
    • Join Our Email List
  • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

© 2019-2026 Real Reporting Foundation | Theme by WordPress Theme Detector