EU countries by government health spending, share of government spending
Ireland had the highest government health spending, share of government spending of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 20.05%. Cyprus had the lowest, at 6.44%. The median was 13.31%. Source: World Health Organization.
All EU countries, 2018
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2018 (%) | Change on 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireland | 20.05 | +0.18 pts |
| 2 | Germany | 19.49 | +0.11 pts |
| 3 | Sweden | 18.49 | +0.04 pts |
| 4 | Denmark | 16.73 | -0.05 pts |
| 5 | Belgium | 15.88 | -0.04 pts |
| 6 | Austria | 15.77 | +0.28 pts |
| 7 | Czechia | 15.56 | -0.36 pts |
| 8 | Netherlands | 15.26 | +0.31 pts |
| 9 | France | 15.22 | +0.01 pts |
| 10 | Spain | 15.12 | -0.16 pts |
| 11 | Malta | 14.94 | -1.05 pts |
| 12 | Slovenia | 13.73 | +0.43 pts |
| 13 | Finland | 13.58 | +0.01 pts |
| 14 | Portugal | 13.31 | +0.78 pts |
| 15 | Slovakia | 13.26 | -0.12 pts |
| 16 | Italy | 13.14 | +0.08 pts |
| 17 | Romania | 12.8 | +0.65 pts |
| 18 | Lithuania | 12.63 | -0.01 pts |
| 19 | Estonia | 12.44 | +0.21 pts |
| 20 | Croatia | 12.27 | -0.13 pts |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 11.43 | -0.4 pts |
| 22 | Poland | 10.83 | -0.11 pts |
| 23 | Luxembourg | 10.58 | +0.03 pts |
| 24 | Hungary | 9.88 | -0 pts |
| 25 | Latvia | 9.4 | +0.46 pts |
| 26 | Greece | 8.59 | -0.25 pts |
| 27 | Cyprus | 6.44 | -0.69 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.Use this data in your AI agent
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Rank EU countries by government health spending, share of government spending using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"government_health_expenditure_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=government_health_expenditure_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which EU country has the highest government health spending, share of government spending?
Ireland, with 20.05% in 2018, according to World Health Organization.
Which EU country has the lowest government health spending, share of government spending?
Cyprus, with 6.44% in 2018.
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.