This chapter looks at recent trends in health spending, overall and disaggregated by type of health service and provider. There is a particular focus on the impact of COVID‑19 and the cost-of-living crisis on health spending. The chapter also analyses how healthcare is financed across Europe and takes a closer look at how much is spent on primary healthcare and pharmaceuticals. After exceptionally high health spending growth in 2020 and 2021, due to additional financial resources mobilised to fight the pandemic and address its consequences, health spending declined in 2022 as EU countries were transitioning out of the acute phase of the health emergency. Additionally, emerging geo-political and economic conditions meant that other emergencies – such as the energy and cost-of-living crisis – weakened the position of health within government priorities. As a result, spending on health as a share of GDP dropped to 10.4% in the EU in 2022, down from 10.9% in 2021. Regarding the financing of healthcare, government and compulsory schemes accounted for around four‑fifths of overall health spending across EU countries. However, out-of-pocket expenditure – which can impact individuals’ access to care – remains an important source of health financing in several Southern as well as Central and Eastern European countries.
Health at a Glance: Europe 2024
State of Health in the EU Cycle
Health at a Glance: Europe
