Healthcare
Charted: Healthcare Spending and Life Expectancy, by Country
Charted: Healthcare Spending and Life Expectancy, by Country
Over the last century, life expectancy at birth has more than doubled across the globe, largely thanks to innovations and discoveries in various medical fields around sanitation, vaccines, and preventative healthcare.
Yet, while the average life expectancy for humans has increased significantly on a global scale, there’s still a noticeable gap in average life expectancies between different countries.
What’s the explanation for this divide? According to World Bank data compiled by Truman Du, it may be partially related to the amount of money a country spends on its healthcare.
More Spending Generally Means More Years
The latest available data from the World Bank includes both the healthcare spending per capita of 178 different countries and their average life expectancy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the analysis found that countries that spent more on healthcare tended to have higher average life expectancies up until reaching the 80-year mark.
Country | Health expenditure per capita (USD, 2019) | Life expectancy at birth, total (years, 2020) |
---|---|---|
Japan | $4,360 | 85 |
Singapore | $2,633 | 84 |
Korea, Rep. | $2,625 | 83 |
Norway | $8,007 | 83 |
Australia | $5,427 | 83 |
Switzerland | $9,666 | 83 |
Iceland | $6,275 | 83 |
Israel | $3,456 | 83 |
Malta | $2,532 | 83 |
Sweden | $5,671 | 82 |
Italy | $2,906 | 82 |
Spain | $2,711 | 82 |
Ireland | $5,429 | 82 |
France | $4,492 | 82 |
Finland | $4,450 | 82 |
New Zealand | $4,211 | 82 |
Canada | $5,048 | 82 |
Luxembourg | $6,221 | 82 |
Denmark | $6,003 | 82 |
Netherlands | $5,335 | 81 |
Austria | $5,242 | 81 |
Cyprus | $1,996 | 81 |
Greece | $1,501 | 81 |
Portugal | $2,221 | 81 |
Germany | $5,440 | 81 |
United Kingdom | $4,313 | 81 |
Belgium | $4,960 | 81 |
Slovenia | $2,219 | 81 |
Costa Rica | $922 | 80 |
Qatar | $1,807 | 80 |
Chile | $1,376 | 80 |
Barbados | $1,143 | 79 |
Maldives | $854 | 79 |
Lebanon | $663 | 79 |
Cuba | $1,032 | 79 |
Panama | $1,193 | 79 |
Estonia | $1,599 | 78 |
Czech Republic | $1,844 | 78 |
United Arab Emirates | $1,843 | 78 |
Oman | $625 | 78 |
Uruguay | $1,661 | 78 |
Turkiye | $396 | 78 |
Croatia | $1,040 | 78 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | $554 | 78 |
Colombia | $495 | 77 |
Bahrain | $940 | 77 |
Thailand | $296 | 77 |
United States | $10,921 | 77 |
Seychelles | $840 | 77 |
Ecuador | $486 | 77 |
Antigua and Barbuda | $760 | 77 |
Sri Lanka | $161 | 77 |
China | $535 | 77 |
Algeria | $248 | 77 |
Peru | $370 | 77 |
Morocco | $174 | 77 |
Tunisia | $233 | 77 |
Iran, Islamic Rep. | $470 | 77 |
Slovak Republic | $1,342 | 77 |
Argentina | $946 | 77 |
Poland | $1,014 | 77 |
St. Lucia | $502 | 76 |
Malaysia | $437 | 76 |
Brazil | $853 | 76 |
Brunei Darussalam | $672 | 76 |
Montenegro | $735 | 76 |
North Macedonia | $437 | 76 |
Hungary | $1,062 | 76 |
Kuwait | $1,759 | 76 |
Vietnam | $181 | 75 |
Honduras | $188 | 75 |
Latvia | $1,167 | 75 |
Saudi Arabia | $1,316 | 75 |
Armenia | $524 | 75 |
Mexico | $540 | 75 |
Lithuania | $1,370 | 75 |
Belize | $293 | 75 |
Nicaragua | $161 | 75 |
Jordan | $334 | 75 |
Jamaica | $327 | 75 |
Guatemala | $271 | 75 |
Paraguay | $388 | 74 |
Romania | $739 | 74 |
Dominican Republic | $491 | 74 |
Serbia | $641 | 74 |
Belarus | $399 | 74 |
Mauritius | $686 | 74 |
Bahamas | $2,005 | 74 |
Georgia | $291 | 74 |
Trinidad and Tobago | $1,168 | 74 |
Bulgaria | $698 | 74 |
El Salvador | $300 | 74 |
Samoa | $272 | 73 |
Cabo Verde | $178 | 73 |
Solomon Islands | $112 | 73 |
Azerbaijan | $193 | 73 |
Bangladesh | $46 | 73 |
St. Vincent and the Grenadines | $355 | 73 |
Grenada | $534 | 72 |
Egypt, Arab Rep. | $150 | 72 |
Bhutan | $116 | 72 |
Venezuela, RB | $339 | 72 |
Moldova | $284 | 72 |
Indonesia | $120 | 72 |
Uzbekistan | $99 | 72 |
Suriname | $619 | 72 |
Kyrgyz Republic | $62 | 72 |
Bolivia | $246 | 72 |
Kazakhstan | $273 | 71 |
Philippines | $142 | 71 |
Russian Federation | $653 | 71 |
Tajikistan | $62 | 71 |
Ukraine | $248 | 71 |
Nepal | $53 | 71 |
Tonga | $242 | 71 |
Iraq | $253 | 71 |
Vanuatu | $104 | 71 |
Sao Tome and Principe | $108 | 71 |
Mongolia | $163 | 70 |
Cambodia | $113 | 70 |
Guyana | $326 | 70 |
India | $64 | 70 |
Botswana | $482 | 70 |
Timor-Leste | $93 | 70 |
Rwanda | $51 | 69 |
Kiribati | $172 | 69 |
Turkmenistan | $500 | 68 |
Lao PDR | $68 | 68 |
Senegal | $59 | 68 |
Fiji | $236 | 68 |
Djibouti | $62 | 67 |
Pakistan | $39 | 67 |
Madagascar | $20 | 67 |
Myanmar | $60 | 67 |
Kenya | $83 | 67 |
Ethiopia | $27 | 67 |
Gabon | $215 | 67 |
Eritrea | $25 | 67 |
Tanzania | $40 | 66 |
Sudan | $47 | 66 |
Afghanistan | $66 | 65 |
Mauritania | $58 | 65 |
Congo, Rep. | $49 | 65 |
Papua New Guinea | $65 | 65 |
Malawi | $30 | 65 |
Comoros | $72 | 65 |
Liberia | $53 | 64 |
South Africa | $547 | 64 |
Ghana | $75 | 64 |
Haiti | $57 | 64 |
Zambia | $69 | 64 |
Namibia | $427 | 64 |
Uganda | $32 | 64 |
Niger | $31 | 63 |
Gambia, The | $30 | 62 |
Benin | $29 | 62 |
Burkina Faso | $42 | 62 |
Guinea | $43 | 62 |
Burundi | $21 | 62 |
Zimbabwe | $103 | 62 |
Angola | $71 | 61 |
Mozambique | $39 | 61 |
Togo | $51 | 61 |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | $21 | 61 |
Eswatini | $264 | 61 |
Mali | $34 | 60 |
Cameroon | $54 | 60 |
Equatorial Guinea | $255 | 59 |
Guinea-Bissau | $63 | 59 |
Cote d'Ivoire | $75 | 58 |
South Sudan | $23 | 58 |
Sierra Leone | $46 | 55 |
Nigeria | $71 | 55 |
Lesotho | $124 | 55 |
Chad | $30 | 55 |
However, there were a few slight exceptions. For instance, while the United States has the largest spending of any country included in the dataset, its average life expectancy of 77 years is lower than many other countries that spend far less per capita.
What’s going on in the United States? While there are several intermingling factors at play, some researchers believe a big contributor is the country’s higher infant mortality rate, along with its higher relative rate of violence among young adults.
On the other end of the spectrum, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea have the highest life expectancies on the list despite their relatively low spending per capita.
It’s worth mentioning that this wasn’t always the case—in the 1960s, Japan’s life expectancy was actually the lowest among the G7 countries, and South Korea’s was below 60 years, making it one of the top 30 countries by improved life expectancy:
View the full-size infographic
In fact, the last 60 years have seen many countries substantially increase their average life expectancies from the 30-40 year range to 70+ years. But as the header chart shows, there are still many countries lagging behind in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
How High Can Average Life Expectancy Go?
Since people are living longer than they’ve ever lived before, how much higher will average life expectancies be in another 100 years?
Recent research published in Nature Communications suggests that, under the right circumstances, human beings have the potential to live up to 150 years.
Projections from the UN predict that growth will be divided, with developed countries seeing higher life expectancies than developing regions.
However, as seen in the above chart from the World Economic Forum and using UN data, it’s likely the gap between developed and developing countries will narrow over time.
This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Healthcare
Life Expectancy by Region (1950-2050F)
This map shows life expectancy at birth for key global regions, from 1950 to 2050F.
Mapped: Life Expectancy by Region (1950-2050F)
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Average life expectancy at birth is projected to surpass 80 years in most global regions by 2050, according to the UN World Population Prospects 2022.
This infographic illustrates the trajectory of life expectancy at birth for both sexes, comparing data from 1950 and 2000 with the organization’s projections for the year 2050.
Life Expectancy to See Substantial Growth
At the beginning of the 19th century, no country had a life expectancy exceeding 40 years, with much of the global population enduring extreme poverty, limited access to medical care, and a lack of sanitation.
By 1950, newborns in Europe, North America, Oceania, Japan, and parts of South America were seeing life expectancies surpassing 60 years, while in other regions, newborns could only anticipate a lifespan of around 30 years.
For instance, individuals in Norway had a life expectancy of 72 years, while in Mali, it was merely 26 years. On average, Africa had a life expectancy of only 38 years.
Since then, life expectancies have substantially grown worldwide. Notably, between 1950 and 2000, significant progress was observed in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Region | 1950 | 2000 | 2050F |
---|---|---|---|
North America | 68 | 77 | 84 |
Latin America & the Caribbean | 49 | 71 | 81 |
Europe | 63 | 74 | 84 |
Asia | 42 | 68 | 80 |
Africa | 38 | 53 | 68 |
Australia & Oceania | 61 | 75 | 82 |
The improvement in life expectancy can be attributed to various factors such as advancements in medical technology, better healthcare infrastructure, improved sanitation, access to clean water, and increased awareness about health and nutrition.
In Perspective With History
Although today it seems like rising life expectancy is a given, for much of history it’s worth noting that the situation was much more static.
As shown in the above chart, for most of human history life expectancy at birth actually sat in the 20-30 year range. It’s only since the mid-19th century that the aforementioned improvements (sanitation, clean water, etc.) allowed for the exponential and regular progress we see today.
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