Ireland vs Japan: Health spending as a share of total government spending
Ireland
22.2%
in 2023
Japan
23.3%
in 2023
Ireland rank
5th
Japan rank
3rd
Health spending as a share of total government spending over time
- Ireland
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 23.3% against 22.2% in Ireland, a difference of 1.1%.
That makes Japan's figure about 1.1 times Ireland's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Japan ahead.
Ireland ranks 5th and Japan ranks 3rd of 195 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.9% | 17.1% | 0.2% | Japan |
| 2010s | 18.0% | 22.8% | 4.7% | Japan |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 23.8% | 2.3% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher health spending as a share of total government spending, Ireland or Japan?
- Japan, at 23.3% against 22.2% in Ireland as of 2023.
- What is the difference in health spending as a share of total government spending between Ireland and Japan?
- 1.1%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and Japan?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
- How do Ireland and Japan rank globally for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Ireland ranks 5th and Japan ranks 3rd 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.