European Union vs United States: Current health expenditure
Current health expenditure over time
- European Union
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 16.7% against 10.5% in European Union, a difference of 6.2%.
That makes United States's figure about 1.6 times European Union's.
Across all 24 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.
European Union ranks 6th and United States ranks 3rd of 47 groups.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | European Union | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.0% | 14.4% | 5.5% | United States |
| 2010s | 9.9% | 16.3% | 6.5% | United States |
| 2020s | 10.5% | 17.3% | 6.8% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher current health expenditure, European Union or United States?
- United States, at 16.7% against 10.5% in European Union as of 2023.
- What is the difference in current health expenditure between European Union and United States?
- 6.2%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for European Union and United States?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
- How do European Union and United States rank globally for current health expenditure?
- European Union ranks 6th and United States ranks 3rd of 47 groups.
- Where does this data come from?
- Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as Current health expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
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About this data
Level of current health expenditure expressed as a percentage of GDP. Estimates of current health expenditures include healthcare goods and services consumed during each year. This indicator does not include capital health expenditures such as buildings, machinery, IT and stocks of vaccines for emergency or outbreaks.