Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland

Ireland: Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending was 76.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
76.6%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
30th
of 193 countries
All-time high
79.3%
in 2008
All-time low
71.0%
in 2013
Years of data
24
2000–2023

Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland, 2000–2023

0204060802000201120232000: 77.5 % of current health expenditure2001: 78.4 % of current health expenditure2002: 79 % of current health expenditure2003: 78.8 % of current health expenditure2004: 78.9 % of current health expenditure2005: 78.9 % of current health expenditure2006: 77.8 % of current health expenditure2007: 79.2 % of current health expenditure2008: 79.3 % of current health expenditure2009: 77.1 % of current health expenditure2010: 76.2 % of current health expenditure2011: 72.2 % of current health expenditure2012: 72.2 % of current health expenditure2013: 71 % of current health expenditure2014: 71.3 % of current health expenditure2015: 71.8 % of current health expenditure2016: 72.2 % of current health expenditure2017: 72.6 % of current health expenditure2018: 73.6 % of current health expenditure2019: 73.8 % of current health expenditure2020: 77.6 % of current health expenditure2021: 76.7 % of current health expenditure2022: 76.5 % of current health expenditure2023: 76.6 % of current health expenditure

Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of current health expenditure.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 76.6% for public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland peaked at 79.3% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 71.0%, in 2013.

Ireland ranks 30th of 193 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.

Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland, 2000 to 2023.
Year % of current health expenditure Change
2000 77.5%
2001 78.4% +1.2%
2002 79.0% +0.7%
2003 78.8% -0.3%
2004 78.9% +0.2%
2005 78.9% -0.1%
2006 77.8% -1.3%
2007 79.2% +1.8%
2008 79.3% +0.1%
2009 77.1% -2.8%
2010 76.2% -1.2%
2011 72.2% -5.3%
2012 72.2% +0.1%
2013 71.0% -1.7%
2014 71.3% +0.3%
2015 71.8% +0.7%
2016 72.2% +0.5%
2017 72.6% +0.6%
2018 73.6% +1.4%
2019 73.8% +0.3%
2020 77.6% +5.1%
2021 76.7% -1.2%
2022 76.5% -0.2%
2023 76.6% +0.1%

Ireland compared with similar countries

  • Ireland's 76.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 73.1%, 1.0× the median. (64 countries reporting)
  • Ireland's 76.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 70.4%, 1.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 78.5% 77.1% 79.3% 10
2010s 72.7% 71.0% 76.2% 10
2020s 76.8% 76.5% 77.6% 4

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 27 New Zealand 77.7% compare
  2. 28 Poland 77.1% compare
  3. 29 Cyprus 76.8% compare
  4. 31 Austria 76.5% compare
  5. 32 Türkiye 75.9% compare
  6. 33 Romania 75.9% compare

See the full ranking of 193 places →

More health data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland?
Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland was 76.6% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 79.3% in 2008.
What is the lowest public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 71.0% in 2013.
How does Ireland rank for public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending?
Ireland ranks 30th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
Is public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-public-expenditure-on-healthcare-by-country/ireland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-public-expenditure-on-healthcare-by-country/ireland/">Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending in Ireland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Public spending on healthcare as percent of total healthcare spending
Unit
% of current health expenditure
Source
Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
193 places, 4,547 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Share of current health expenditures funded from domestic public sources for health.