Health expenditure rose across the comparable-country sample
Across countries with data in both 2014 and 2024, the average increased by 0.50 percentage points of GDP.
Health expenditure across Europe
How much of their economies do European countries spend on health?
This page tracks current health expenditure as a percentage of GDP across European countries from 2014 to 2024. The indicator covers all financing schemes and shows the share of each country's economic output devoted to current health expenditure.
Across the 25 countries with data available in both 2014 and 2024, the average increased from 8.33% of GDP to 8.83%. The period was not uniform. Many countries recorded higher shares around 2020 and 2021, followed by lower values in subsequent years, while long-term changes differed substantially across Europe.
Explore the data
Key insights
Germany recorded the highest 2024 share
Germany spent the equivalent of 12.21% of GDP on current health expenditure in 2024, followed by Austria at 11.71%.
Long-term changes varied substantially
Estonia recorded the largest increase between 2014 and 2024, while Ireland recorded the largest decrease.
Key comparisons
Selected highlights from the health expenditure dataset, 2014–2024.
Extended analysis
1) Health expenditure increased moderately across comparable countries
Across the 25 countries with values available in both 2014 and 2024, average current health expenditure increased from 8.33% of GDP to 8.83%. The increase of 0.50 percentage points shows that, on average, health expenditure accounted for a somewhat larger share of economic output at the end of the period.
A higher percentage does not automatically mean that a country has a better health system or spends more in absolute terms. The indicator compares health expenditure with GDP, so changes can reflect developments in both health spending and the wider economy.
2) Germany, Austria and Switzerland recorded the highest 2024 shares
Among countries with 2024 data, the highest current health expenditure shares were recorded in Germany (12.21% of GDP), Austria (11.71%), Switzerland (11.38%), France (11.33%) and Sweden (11.16%).
These figures show the share of economic output devoted to current health expenditure. They do not measure spending per person and should therefore not be interpreted as a direct ranking of the amount of healthcare resources available to each resident.
3) The lowest 2024 shares were recorded in Liechtenstein and Luxembourg
Among countries with 2024 data, the lowest values were recorded in Liechtenstein (5.33% of GDP), Luxembourg (5.74%), Romania (6.16%), Ireland (6.45%) and Hungary (6.45%).
A relatively low share of GDP does not necessarily imply low absolute spending. Differences in GDP levels, population size, prices and health-system financing mean that percentage-of-GDP comparisons describe economic priority and scale rather than the full level of resources.
4) Estonia recorded the largest increase between 2014 and 2024
Among countries with data available in both endpoint years, the largest increases were recorded in Estonia (+1.70 percentage points), Poland (+1.56), Germany (+1.44), Lithuania (+1.40) and Slovenia (+1.23).
These figures compare the two endpoint years only. They do not imply a steady increase throughout the period, and the time series shows that expenditure shares moved up and down in many countries between 2014 and 2024.
5) Ireland recorded the largest decrease over the full period
The largest decline between 2014 and 2024 was recorded in Ireland (−2.82 percentage points), followed by Denmark (−0.72), Hungary (−0.59), Italy (−0.40) and the Netherlands (−0.36).
Because the denominator is GDP, a falling expenditure share can result from slower health-spending growth, faster economic growth or a combination of both. The indicator therefore measures health expenditure relative to the economy rather than a simple change in healthcare budgets.
How to read this indicator
Health expenditure is measured here as current health expenditure from all financing schemes as a percentage of GDP. The measure includes health spending financed through the different schemes covered by Eurostat's System of Health Accounts and expresses the total relative to the size of each country's economy. A value of 10 means that current health expenditure is equivalent to 10% of GDP.
The indicator should not be read as a direct measure of healthcare quality, efficiency or spending per person. Countries can devote a similar share of GDP to health while differing substantially in income levels, prices, population structure and the way healthcare is organised and financed.
The supplied dataset covers 2014–2024. Data for Spain, Latvia, Malta, Slovakia, Finland and Norway are currently available through 2023. The time series shows each country for the years for which data are available. In the latest map and table, 2023 values are used for these countries because 2024 data are not available. Comparisons covering the full 2014–2024 period include only countries with values in both endpoint years. Spain, Latvia, Malta, Slovakia, Finland and Norway are therefore excluded from full-period rankings and averages.