Finland vs Japan: Government health spending as a share of GDP
Finland
8.5%
in 2025
Japan
8.7%
in 2025
Finland rank
8th
Japan rank
7th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- Finland
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 8.7% against 8.5% in Finland, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 72 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Finland ahead.
Finland ranks 8th and Japan ranks 7th of 59 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Finland averaged higher in 10 and Japan in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Finland | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | Finland |
| 1890s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.3% | Finland |
| 1900s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | Finland |
| 1910s | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.3% | Finland |
| 1920s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Finland |
| 1930s | 1.3% | 0.1% | 1.2% | Finland |
| 1960s | 2.6% | 2.3% | 0.3% | Finland |
| 1970s | 4.2% | 3.5% | 0.7% | Finland |
| 1980s | 5.0% | 4.4% | 0.6% | Finland |
| 1990s | 5.6% | 4.8% | 0.8% | Finland |
| 2000s | 6.1% | 6.1% | 0.0% | Japan |
| 2010s | 7.3% | 8.7% | 1.4% | Japan |
| 2020s | 8.1% | 9.4% | 1.3% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, Finland or Japan?
- Japan, at 8.7% against 8.5% in Finland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between Finland and Japan?
- 0.2%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Japan?
- 72 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2025.
- How do Finland and Japan rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Finland ranks 8th and Japan ranks 7th of 59 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Government health spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public health expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.