Australia vs Ireland: Health spending as a share of total government spending
Australia
21.0%
in 2023
Ireland
22.2%
in 2023
Australia rank
8th
Ireland rank
5th
Health spending as a share of total government spending over time
- Australia
- Ireland
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 22.2% against 21.0% in Australia, a difference of 1.2%.
That makes Ireland's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Ireland ahead.
Australia ranks 8th and Ireland ranks 5th of 195 countries.
Ireland has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Ireland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.6% | 16.9% | 1.3% | Ireland |
| 2010s | 17.3% | 18.0% | 0.7% | Ireland |
| 2020s | 19.4% | 21.4% | 2.0% | Ireland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher health spending as a share of total government spending, Australia or Ireland?
- Ireland, at 22.2% against 21.0% in Australia as of 2023.
- What is the difference in health spending as a share of total government spending between Australia and Ireland?
- 1.2%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Ireland?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
- How do Australia and Ireland rank globally for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Australia ranks 8th and Ireland ranks 5th of 195 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Health spending as a share of total government spending. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Domestic general government health expenditure expressed as a percentage of total expenditure of the general government.