Country profiles
Country health profiles
Direct answer: Fifty-six profiles — Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam — each explaining one health system in plain language: the model, who pays, who delivers, what is free, and the key figures. The countries are listed alphabetically; no country is ranked as best.
Published 7 November 2026 · Last reviewed 7 November 2026
The fifty-six profiles
Each profile follows the same template, so the fifty-six can be compared row by row. Life expectancy is for 2023 and health spending is for 2024, from the OECD Health at a Glance 2025 country dashboards, unless the profile says otherwise. Life expectancy for Chile, Colombia and Mexico is for 2024, the latest year for those countries in the OECD table. Life expectancy for Türkiye is for 2022, the latest year for Türkiye in the OECD table. Life expectancy and spending for Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam are for 2023, from WHO Global Health Estimates and the World Bank (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database), because those countries are not in the OECD tables. Model and coverage descriptions come from the Commonwealth Fund country profiles and KFF Health Policy 101 — and, for Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia, from the State of Health in the EU Country Health Profiles 2025 (OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies), for Korea from the OECD Health at a Glance 2025 country note, for Colombia and Costa Rica from the OECD Health at a Glance 2025 country notes, for Peru from the OECD Reviews of Health Systems: Peru 2017, for Thailand from the WHO Health Systems in Transition: Thailand Health System Review 2024, for Argentina from the PAHO Profile of the Health Services System of Argentina, and for South Africa from the National Department of Health NHI FAQ. Figures are a snapshot checked 7 November 2026, not a live feed.
| Flag | Country | Model | Life expectancy, 2023 | Health spending, % of GDP | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Argentina | Mixed — public + social security (obras sociales) + private | 77.2 years | 10.3% (2023) | Health system: Argentina |
 | Australia | National health insurance — Medicare | 83.0 years | 10.3% (Health at a Glance 2025) | Health system: Australia |
 | Austria | Bismarck — social health insurance (SHI) | 81.9 years | 11.8% (2024) | Health system: Austria |
 | Belgium | Bismarck — compulsory social health insurance | 82.5 years | 11.0% (2024) | Health system: Belgium |
 | Brazil | Beveridge — national health service (SUS) | 75.9 years | 9.7% (2023) | Health system: Brazil |
 | Bulgaria | Bismarck — compulsory social health insurance (NHIF) | 75.6 years | 7.9% (2023) | Health system: Bulgaria |
 | Canada | National health insurance — single-payer | 81.7 years | 11.3% (2024) | Health system: Canada |
 | Chile | Mixed — social insurance, public + private | 81.6 years (2024) | 10.5% (2024) | Health system: Chile |
 | China | Mixed — social insurance, public provision | 77.9 years | 5.9% (2023) | Health system: China |
 | Colombia | Bismarck — mandatory social health insurance (SGSSS) | 77.5 years (2024) | 8.1% (2024) | Health system: Colombia |
 | Costa Rica | Beveridge — single-payer national health service (CCSS) | 81.0 years | 6.8% (2024) | Health system: Costa Rica |
 | Croatia | Bismarck — mandatory social health insurance (CHIF) | 78.6 years | 7.1% (2023) | Health system: Croatia |
 | Czechia | Bismarck — mandatory social health insurance | 79.9 years | 8.5% (2024) | Health system: Czechia |
 | Denmark | Beveridge — tax-funded, regional | 81.8 years | 9.4% (2024) | Health system: Denmark |
 | Estonia | Bismarck — mandatory social health insurance (EHIF) | 79.1 years | 7.8% (2024) | Health system: Estonia |
 | Ethiopia | Mixed — community-based insurance + health extension programme | 68.7 years | 2.8% (2023) | Health system: Ethiopia |
 | Finland | Beveridge — tax-funded, well-being services counties | 81.6 years | 10.6% (2024) | Health system: Finland |
 | France | Bismarck — statutory health insurance | 83.0 years | 11.5% (2024) | Health system: France |
 | Germany | Bismarck — sickness funds | 81.1 years | 12.3% (2024) | Health system: Germany |
 | Greece | Beveridge — national health service (ESY) | 81.8 years | 8.1% (2024) | Health system: Greece |
 | Hungary | Bismarck — social health insurance (NHIF) | 76.7 years | 6.5% (2024) | Health system: Hungary |
 | Iceland | Beveridge — tax-funded, national health insurance (SÍ) | 82.4 years | 9.0% (2024) | Health system: Iceland |
 | India | Mixed — public provision + insurance schemes | 71.0 years | 3.3% (2023) | Health system: India |
 | Indonesia | Mixed — national health insurance (JKN) | 72.7 years | 2.7% (2023) | Health system: Indonesia |
 | Iran | Mixed — public insurance + primary health care network | 77.7 years | 6.0% (2023) | Health system: Iran |
 | Ireland | Mixed — tax-funded national health service, means-tested primary care | 82.9 years | 6.9% (2024) | Health system: Ireland |
 | Israel | Bismarck — national health insurance (four health funds) | 83.8 years | 7.6% (2024) | Health system: Israel |
 | Italy | Beveridge — national health service (SSN) | 83.5 years | 8.4% (2024) | Health system: Italy |
 | Japan | Bismarck — mandatory public insurance | 84.1 years | 10.6% (2024) | Health system: Japan |
 | Korea | National health insurance — single-payer (NHIS) | 83.5 years | 8.4% (2024) | Health system: Korea |
 | Latvia | Beveridge — tax-funded national health service (NHS) | 75.6 years | 7.6% (2024) | Health system: Latvia |
 | Lithuania | Bismarck — mandatory health insurance (NHIF) | 77.6 years | 7.6% (2024) | Health system: Lithuania |
 | Luxembourg | Bismarck — compulsory social health insurance (CNS) | 83.4 years | 5.9% (2024) | Health system: Luxembourg |
 | Mexico | Mixed — social security + public provision (IMSS-Bienestar) | 75.5 years (2024) | 5.9% (2024) | Health system: Mexico |
 | Netherlands | Bismarck — mandatory private insurance | 81.9 years | 10.0% (2024) | Health system: Netherlands |
 | New Zealand | Beveridge — tax-funded, national (Health New Zealand) | 82.0 years | 10.1% (2024) | Health system: New Zealand |
 | Nigeria | Mixed — mandatory insurance (NHIA), out-of-pocket in practice | 62.9 years | 4.2% (2023) | Health system: Nigeria |
 | Norway | Beveridge — tax-funded (National Insurance Scheme) | 83.1 years | 9.7% (2024) | Health system: Norway |
 | Pakistan | Mixed — public-private hybrid (Sehat Sahulat Program) | 68.2 years | 2.5% (2023) | Health system: Pakistan |
 | Peru | Mixed — fragmented subsystems (SIS + EsSalud) | 78.4 years | 5.6% (2023) | Health system: Peru |
 | Philippines | Mixed — social health insurance (PhilHealth) | 70.4 years | 5.1% (2023) | Health system: Philippines |
 | Poland | Bismarck — social health insurance (NFZ) | 78.4 years | 8.1% (2024) | Health system: Poland |
 | Portugal | Beveridge — national health service (NHS) | 82.5 years | 10.2% (2024) | Health system: Portugal |
 | Romania | Bismarck — compulsory social health insurance (NHIH) | 76.2 years | 5.7% (2023) | Health system: Romania |
 | Singapore | Mixed — medical savings + insurance (S+3Ms) | 83.6 years | 4.5% (2023) | Health system: Singapore |
 | Slovak Republic | Bismarck — compulsory social health insurance (three insurers) | 78.2 years | 8.4% (2024) | Health system: Slovak Republic |
 | Slovenia | Bismarck — compulsory social health insurance (HIIS) | 82.0 years | 9.9% (2024) | Health system: Slovenia |
 | South Africa | Mixed — two-tier public/private; NHI legislated | 66.0 years | 8.9% (2023) | Health system: South Africa |
 | Spain | Beveridge — national health service (SNS) | 84.0 years | 9.2% (2024) | Health system: Spain |
 | Sweden | Beveridge — tax-funded, regional | 83.4 years | 11.3% (2024) | Health system: Sweden |
 | Switzerland | Bismarck — mandatory private insurance | 84.3 years | 11.8% (2024) | Health system: Switzerland |
 | Thailand | Mixed — three public schemes (UCS + SSS + CSMBS) | 78.1 years | 4.5% (2023) | Health system: Thailand |
 | Türkiye | Social health insurance — universal (GSS) | 77.3 years (2022) | 4.7% (2024) | Health system: Türkiye |
 | United Kingdom | Beveridge — national health service | 81.0 years | 11.1% (2024) | Health system: United Kingdom |
 | United States | Mixed — no universal system | 78.4 years | 17.2% (2024) | Health system: United States |
 | Vietnam | Mixed — social health insurance (SHI) | 74.3 years | 4.6% (2023) | Health system: Vietnam |
Life expectancy — the ten longest-lived
Life expectancy at birth, 2023 (or the latest year noted in the table). Bar length is relative to the scale 60–84.3 years; the table above has the exact figures for all 56 countries.
Australia's spending figure is the Health at a Glance 2025 country-note figure; the note gives 10.3% of GDP without pinning it to a single year, so no year is claimed for it here. Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam figures are for 2023 from WHO/World Bank sources, not the OECD tables. Life expectancy for Chile, Colombia and Mexico is for 2024, the latest year for those countries in the OECD table. Life expectancy for Türkiye is for 2022, the latest year for Türkiye in the OECD table. The United Kingdom row describes England's NHS; health is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United States row describes a mixed system with no universal coverage.
Compare all fifty-six
For a side-by-side comparison of six countries — the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and the United States — use the Health System Comparison tool, which covers 6 of these 56 profiles. The full table above covers all 56. For the concepts behind the table, read Health system models, explained and How healthcare is funded.
How to read these profiles
Each profile answers the same five questions: what model the country runs, who pays, who delivers the care, what is free at the point of use, and what the key figures are. "Free at the point of use" means no payment when the care is received — not that the care costs nothing: somebody pays, through taxation or contributions, before the patient arrives. No profile ranks its country against the others. Life expectancy and spending describe populations, not any individual's prospects, and a higher spend does not by itself mean a better system.
Sources
- OECD — Health at a Glance 2025: country dashboards (opens in a new tab)
- Commonwealth Fund — Australia country profile (opens in a new tab)
- KFF — Health Policy 101: International Comparison of Health Systems (opens in a new tab)
- WHO — Global Health Observatory (opens in a new tab)
- WHO — Global Health Expenditure Database (opens in a new tab)