Iceland vs New Zealand: Government health spending as a share of GDP
Iceland
7.7%
in 2025
New Zealand
7.8%
in 2025
Iceland rank
18th
New Zealand rank
17th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- Iceland
- New Zealand
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 7.8% against 7.7% in Iceland, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was New Zealand ahead.
Iceland ranks 18th and New Zealand ranks 17th of 59 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 3 and New Zealand in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 3.7% | 1.3% | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 4.2% | 4.5% | 0.3% | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 5.8% | 4.9% | 0.9% | Iceland |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 5.5% | 0.9% | Iceland |
| 2000s | 7.2% | 6.5% | 0.7% | Iceland |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 7.0% | 0.4% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 7.7% | 7.9% | 0.2% | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, Iceland or New Zealand?
- New Zealand, at 7.8% against 7.7% in Iceland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between Iceland and New Zealand?
- 0.1%, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and New Zealand?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and New Zealand rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 18th and New Zealand ranks 17th 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.