EU countries by government health spending, share of government spending, 2023

Ireland had the highest government health spending, share of government spending of 27 EU countries in 2023, at 22.16%. Greece had the lowest, at 8.58%. The median was 14.56%. Source: World Health Organization.

Highest22.16Ireland
Lowest8.58Greece
Median14.5627 EU countries

All EU countries, 2023

Ireland: 22.16 %Ireland22.16Sweden: 19.45 %Sweden19.45Germany: 19.21 %Germany19.21Denmark: 16.92 %Denmark16.92Austria: 16.19 %Austria16.19Czechia: 16.18 %Czechia16.18Malta: 15.91 %Malta15.91Netherlands: 15.56 %Netherlands15.56Finland: 15.19 %Finland15.19Belgium: 14.93 %Belgium14.93Cyprus: 14.86 %Cyprus14.86Spain: 14.85 %Spain14.85Slovenia: 14.63 %Slovenia14.63Portugal: 14.56 %Portugal14.56France: 13.7 %France13.7Estonia: 12.96 %Estonia12.96Croatia: 12.84 %Croatia12.84Bulgaria: 12.83 %Bulgaria12.83Lithuania: 12.73 %Lithuania12.73Slovakia: 12.1 %Slovakia12.1Poland: 11.75 %Poland11.75Italy: 11.44 %Italy11.44Romania: 10.66 %Romania10.66Luxembourg: 10.44 %Luxembourg10.44Latvia: 9.91 %Latvia9.91Hungary: 9.51 %Hungary9.51Greece: 8.58 %Greece8.58
%. Source: World Health Organization, Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of general government expenditure (GGE) (%) (GHED_GGHE-DGGE_SHA2011). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Ireland22.16-0.21 pts
2Sweden19.45+0.4 pts
3Germany19.21-1.24 pts
4Denmark16.92-0.9 pts
5Austria16.19-0.14 pts
6Czechia16.18-0.52 pts
7Malta15.91-0.25 pts
8Netherlands15.56-0.15 pts
9Finland15.19+0.07 pts
10Belgium14.93-0.26 pts
11Cyprus14.86-1.73 pts
12Spain14.85-0.36 pts
13Slovenia14.63-0.21 pts
14Portugal14.56-0.42 pts
15France13.7-1.56 pts
16Estonia12.96-0.02 pts
17Croatia12.84-0.87 pts
18Bulgaria12.83+1.26 pts
19Lithuania12.73-0.32 pts
20Slovakia12.1-2.21 pts
21Poland11.75+0.71 pts
22Italy11.44-0.45 pts
23Romania10.66-0.41 pts
24Luxembourg10.44-0.58 pts
25Latvia9.91-1.95 pts
26Hungary9.51-0.41 pts
27Greece8.58-0.07 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as a percentage of general government expenditure (SDG indicator 1.a.2): transfers from government domestic revenue allocated to health plus social health insurance contributions, divided by total general government spending. WHO Global Health Expenditure Database, System of Health Accounts 2011.

A share of all government spending, not of GDP; health aid from abroad is excluded. Values are served with every decimal WHO publishes. WHO revises these series, past years included, when new national reports or estimates come in, so values can change between retrievals.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

World Health Organization, data.who.int. Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of general government expenditure (GGE) (%) (GHED_GGHE-DGGE_SHA2011) [Indicator]. https://data.who.int/indicators/i/8C8FB8F/B9C6C79 (Accessed on 2026-10-12). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. No changes made to source values. WHO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest government health spending, share of government spending?

Ireland, with 22.16% in 2023, according to World Health Organization.

Which EU country has the lowest government health spending, share of government spending?

Greece, with 8.58% in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Health Organization, Domestic general government health expenditure (GGHE-D) as percentage of general government expenditure (GGE) (%) (GHED_GGHE-DGGE_SHA2011). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Government health spending, share of government spending: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings