OECD countries spent 9.3% of their GDP on health in 2024, less than the peak during COVID-19, but higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 16 OECD countries, health spending accounts for at least 10% of GDP, and in the average OECD country, public spending on health represents 15% of government expenditure, according to a new OECD report.
OECD Health at a Glance 2025 says that public spending on health is set to grow on average by 1.5% of GDP by 2045 across the OECD, driven largely by technological change, rising expectations of what healthcare can achieve and population ageing. Financing these higher public spending needs may be challenging, given competing policy priorities and public finance constraints. A renewed focus on value-for-money is important, with preventive interventions playing a key role.
Life expectancy averaged 81.1 years across OECD countries in 2023 but remained below pre-pandemic levels in 13 OECD countries. In total, there were over three million premature deaths in 2023 among people aged under 75 that could have been avoided through better prevention and healthcare interventions. Diseases of the circulatory system, such as coronary heart disease and cancer, are the two leading causes of death, accounting for almost half of all deaths in OECD countries.
Despite most countries having universal healthcare systems, access challenges remain. Waiting times continue to be a challenge in several countries. Differences between socio-economic groups are significant, with persons in the lowest-income quintile 2.5 times more likely to report unmet medical care needs than persons in the highest-income quintile.
Obesity rates continued to rise in over four-fifths of OECD countries between 2013 and 2023, with 54% of adults overweight or obese, on average. Harmful alcohol use is also a concern, with 27% of adults reporting binge drinking at least once a month. While smoking rates have fallen, 15% of adults still smoke daily, and vaping rates are increasing. These risk factors extend to children. For example, among 15-year-olds, 20% were overweight or obese, 15% smoked and 20% vaped at least monthly.
"Preventive and primary healthcare interventions can be a cost-effective way to address major risk factors for health, such as obesity, smoking or harmful alcohol use," OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said. "To enhance the effectiveness and fiscal sustainability of our healthcare systems, countries should increase the share of total health spending they allocate to these interventions, which is currently 3% for preventive healthcare and 14% for primary healthcare."
Primary care is helping keep people well and out of hospital, with avoidable hospital admissions falling in 28 of 30 OECD countries with available data over the last decade. Patient satisfaction with primary care services is also high: on average 87% of primary care users aged 45 and older with chronic conditions rated the care that they received positively, and 78% trusted the last healthcare professional they saw.
Health indicators show continued improvement in the quality of acute care services. The chance of survival after a heart attack or stroke is higher now than a decade ago, for example: 30-day mortality rates following a heart attack averaged 6.5% in 2023, down from 8.2% in 2013, and for ischaemic stroke the figures were 7.7% in 2023 and 9.3% in 2013.
However, only 44% of physicians and nurses perceived staff levels and work pace to be safe and, although patient experiences are generally positive, there is room for further improvement, especially for patients with more complex needs.
Mental ill-health remains a concern, particularly among young people. On average, 52% of 15-year-olds reported multiple health complaints, including feeling low or having repeated headaches or dizziness, in 2022, up from 37% in 2014.
The health workforce is growing, with about one in every nine jobs being in health or social care, on average across OECD countries. This looks set to increase further as demand for healthcare continues to rise. Foreign-trained workers are helping to fill gaps, with on average 20% of all doctors trained abroad in 2023, up from 16% in 2010.
