Ireland vs United States of America: Health spending as a share of total government spending
Ireland
22.2%
in 2023
United States of America
23.0%
in 2023
Ireland rank
5th
United States of America rank
4th
Health spending as a share of total government spending over time
- Ireland
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 23.0% against 22.2% in Ireland, a difference of 0.8%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2000 it was United States of America ahead.
Ireland ranks 5th and United States of America ranks 4th of 195 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.9% | 17.7% | 0.8% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 18.0% | 21.1% | 3.1% | United States of America |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 22.6% | 1.1% | United States of America |
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 United States of America?
- United States of America, at 23.0% 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 United States of America?
- 0.8%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and United States of America?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
- How do Ireland and United States of America rank globally for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Ireland ranks 5th and United States of America ranks 4th 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.