New Zealand vs Sweden: Health spending as a share of total government spending
New Zealand
19.2%
in 2023
Sweden
19.5%
in 2023
New Zealand rank
13th
Sweden rank
12th
Health spending as a share of total government spending over time
- New Zealand
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 19.5% against 19.2% in New Zealand, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2000 it was New Zealand ahead.
New Zealand ranks 13th and Sweden ranks 12th of 195 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 2 and Sweden in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.8% | 12.8% | 4.0% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 17.7% | 17.7% | 0.0% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 19.1% | 0.5% | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher health spending as a share of total government spending, New Zealand or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 19.5% against 19.2% in New Zealand as of 2023.
- What is the difference in health spending as a share of total government spending between New Zealand and Sweden?
- 0.3%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and Sweden?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
- How do New Zealand and Sweden rank globally for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- New Zealand ranks 13th and Sweden ranks 12th 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.