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 2022, at 22.37%. Greece had the lowest, at 8.65%. The median was 14.99%. Source: World Health Organization.

Highest22.37Ireland
Lowest8.65Greece
Median14.9927 EU countries

All EU countries, 2022

Ireland: 22.37 %Ireland22.37Germany: 20.44 %Germany20.44Sweden: 19.05 %Sweden19.05Denmark: 17.82 %Denmark17.82Czechia: 16.7 %Czechia16.7Cyprus: 16.59 %Cyprus16.59Austria: 16.33 %Austria16.33Malta: 16.16 %Malta16.16Netherlands: 15.71 %Netherlands15.71France: 15.25 %France15.25Spain: 15.2 %Spain15.2Belgium: 15.19 %Belgium15.19Finland: 15.13 %Finland15.13Portugal: 14.99 %Portugal14.99Slovenia: 14.84 %Slovenia14.84Slovakia: 14.31 %Slovakia14.31Croatia: 13.71 %Croatia13.71Lithuania: 13.06 %Lithuania13.06Estonia: 12.98 %Estonia12.98Italy: 11.89 %Italy11.89Latvia: 11.86 %Latvia11.86Bulgaria: 11.57 %Bulgaria11.57Romania: 11.07 %Romania11.07Poland: 11.04 %Poland11.04Luxembourg: 11.02 %Luxembourg11.02Hungary: 9.92 %Hungary9.92Greece: 8.65 %Greece8.65
%. 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 countries2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Ireland22.37+1.4 pts
2Germany20.44+0.48 pts
3Sweden19.05-0.22 pts
4Denmark17.82-0.4 pts
5Czechia16.7-0.88 pts
6Cyprus16.59+0.27 pts
7Austria16.33-0.56 pts
8Malta16.16-0.11 pts
9Netherlands15.71-1.07 pts
10France15.25-0.3 pts
11Spain15.2+0.02 pts
12Belgium15.19-0.27 pts
13Finland15.13+0.5 pts
14Portugal14.99+0.19 pts
15Slovenia14.84+0.85 pts
16Slovakia14.31+0.76 pts
17Croatia13.71-0.42 pts
18Lithuania13.06-0.91 pts
19Estonia12.98-0.53 pts
20Italy11.89-0.46 pts
21Latvia11.86-2.16 pts
22Bulgaria11.57-1.74 pts
23Romania11.07-1.21 pts
24Poland11.04+0.5 pts
25Luxembourg11.02-0.49 pts
26Hungary9.92-1.1 pts
27Greece8.65-0.84 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

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

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=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Ireland, with 22.37% in 2022, according to World Health Organization.

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

Greece, with 8.65% in 2022.

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