Signature
S = CHE / GDP * 100
| Inputs | Definition | Unit |
|---|---|---|
CHE | Current health expenditure of the country in the year, the final consumption of health care goods and services counted under the System of Health Accounts 2011 across all financing schemes, without capital spending | million national currency units at current prices |
GDP | Gross domestic product of the same country in the same year and currency as CHE; above zero | million national currency units at current prices |
S | Current health expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product in the year | percent of GDP |
|---|
Function
Health spending as a share of GDP function
Maps the current health expenditure and the gross domestic product of one country in one year, both in the same national currency at current prices, to the share of GDP spent on health, reported as a percentage. The change in the share between two years is HE-FM-HGDP-001 evaluated in each year and divided, which regroups as the growth factor of spending divided by the growth factor of GDP (derived identity, not a separate formula). Spending per person in international dollars is a cost converted at purchasing power parity with HE-FM-BOC-002 and a target factor of 1, as in HE-EX-BOC-005, then divided by the population. The administrative share of current health expenditure is HE-FM-ACR-001, and the Baumol records give a relative unit cost and a model share of working hours (HE-FN-BAUM-001) and a component of real health spending growth (HE-FM-BAUM-004), which HE-ER-BAUM-008 separates from a change in the GDP share. If spending is proportional to GDP raised to an income elasticity eta, the share is proportional to GDP raised to eta minus 1 and rises with GDP only when eta exceeds 1 (derived); the only live income elasticity is the Variable HE-VR-XPE-021. Notation follows the Health Spending as GDP Share article.
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Implementations
Excel
Health spending share of GDP from named cells
With current health expenditure in a cell named HealthExpenditureCurrent and GDP for the same year and currency in a cell named GrossDomesticProduct, the formula returns S in a cell named HealthSpendingShareGDP as a plain number of percentage points. Keep the cell in General or Number format, since the Percentage format multiplies the display by a further 100. A blank or zero GDP cell returns #DIV/0!.
=HealthExpenditureCurrent/GrossDomesticProduct*100
Assumptions
Same country, year and currency in both parts of the GDP share
CHE and GDP refer to the same country and calendar year and are both in national currency at current prices, as in the GHED, where both are held in million current national currency units. Under this condition the currency cancels and no conversion is needed; a share built from spending in one year and GDP in another, or from parts in different currencies, is not the indicator.
Current health expenditure counted on the health accounts boundary
The numerator follows the System of Health Accounts 2011 boundary that the OECD and WHO use, the final consumption of health goods and services, including spending by all financing arrangements on medical services and goods, population health and prevention programmes and administration of the health system. The GHED builds it as government and compulsory schemes plus voluntary schemes plus household out-of-pocket payment plus rest-of-the-world schemes plus unspecified schemes, and WHO states that capital expenditure on health is not included.
One database and one release for a comparison of GDP shares
All countries and years in a comparison come from one database and one release. The GHED notes that WHO adjusts and estimates national figures and that country data may still differ in definitions, data collection methods, population coverage and estimation methods, and the most recent year is provisional in the OECD data and preliminary in the GHED. The OECD keeps GDP as the denominator for all countries, including Ireland and Luxembourg where it judges gross national income a possibly more meaningful base.
Worked examples
United Kingdom health spending share of GDP in 2019
GHED figures as the article gives them, in million pounds at current prices, for the United Kingdom in 2019. Current health expenditure of 222,935 million over GDP of 2,233,921 million gives 9.98% of GDP.
CHE = 222935; GDP = 2233921; S = 9.98
United Kingdom health spending share of GDP in 2020
GHED figures as the article gives them for the United Kingdom in 2020, when spending rose and GDP fell. Current health expenditure of 254,603 million pounds over GDP of 2,103,486 million pounds gives 12.10% of GDP, against 9.98% in 2019 (HE-EX-HGDP-001).
CHE = 254603; GDP = 2103486; S = 12.10
Norway health spending share of GDP in 2021
GHED figures as the article gives them, in million kroner at current prices, for Norway in 2021. Current health expenditure of 424,362 million over GDP of 4,323,931 million gives 9.81% of GDP.
CHE = 424362; GDP = 4323931; S = 9.81
Norway health spending share of GDP in 2022
GHED figures as the article gives them for Norway in 2022, when nominal GDP grew much faster than health spending. Current health expenditure of 453,400 million kroner over GDP of 5,732,905 million kroner gives 7.91% of GDP, below the 9.81% of 2021 (HE-EX-HGDP-003) although spending in kroner rose.
CHE = 453400; GDP = 5732905; S = 7.91
Common errors
Reading a rise or fall in the GDP share as a change in health spending
Between 2021 and 2022 Norway's share fell to 7.91% from 9.81% while its health spending in kroner rose by a factor of 1.0684, because GDP rose by a factor of 1.3259, and the ratio of the two shares, 0.8058, equals the ratio of the two growth factors (derived). The United Kingdom's share rose by a factor of 1.2129 in 2020 with spending up by a factor of 1.1421 and GDP down by a factor of 0.9416. A change in S has to be read with the change in CHE and in GDP beside it.
Spending and GDP taken from different years in the GDP share
Dividing the United Kingdom's 2020 health spending of 254,603 million pounds by the 2019 GDP of 2,233,921 million pounds gives 11.40% instead of the 12.10% of HE-EX-HGDP-002, because the 2020 fall in GDP is left out (derived). The same mistake arises when a GDP series is revised after the spending figures were taken, so both parts should come from one release.
Reading a low GDP share as low spending per person
In the 2023 GHED figures Ireland spent 6.6% of GDP on health against 11.0% in the United Kingdom, yet its current health expenditure per person was 8,269 international dollars at purchasing power parity against 6,365, about 30% higher. The OECD notes that in Ireland and Luxembourg a significant part of GDP is repatriated profits not available for national consumption, and that gross national income may be a more meaningful denominator there. Levels per person are compared through HE-FM-BOC-002, not through S.
Health spending share of GDP formatted as a percentage after multiplying by 100
HE-IM-HGDP-001 already multiplies by 100, so a result cell set to the Excel Percentage format shows the United Kingdom 2019 share as 997.95%, or 998% with no decimals, rather than 9.98. Either keep the factor of 100 with a General or Number format, or drop it and use the Percentage format, but not both.
Sources
WHO Global Health Expenditure Database on current health expenditure as a percentage of GDP
World Health Organization. Global Health Expenditure Database, GHED_data.xlsx, last updated 12 December 2025. Geneva: WHO. The Codebook sheet defines che_gdp, Current Health Expenditure (CHE) as % Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as CHE divided by GDP; che as the sum of financing schemes HF.1, HF.2, HF.3, HF.4 and HF.nec in million current national currency units; gdp in million current national currency units; and che_ppp_pc as current health expenditure in current international dollars at PPP per capita. The Data sheet gives the United Kingdom and Norway values used in the worked examples and tests, and the 2023 shares and per person values for Ireland and the United Kingdom. The database home page notes that WHO adjusts and estimates national figures and that country data may still differ in definitions, data collection methods, population coverage and estimation methods.
OECD Health at a Glance 2025 on health expenditure in relation to GDP
OECD. Health at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing; 2025. doi:10.1787/8f9e3f98-en. Chapter 7, Health expenditure in relation to GDP, p. 154, which states that the share varies over time because of differences in both the growth of health spending and overall economic growth, and its Definition and comparability box, which defines expenditure on health as the final consumption of health goods and services (current health expenditure) under the System of Health Accounts 2011, covering all financing arrangements, medical services and goods, population health and prevention programmes and administration, and states that GNI may be more meaningful than GDP in Ireland and Luxembourg but that GDP is kept as the denominator for all countries for consistency.
WHO 2024 global spending report on capital expenditure outside current health expenditure
World Health Organization. Global spending on health: emerging from the pandemic. Geneva: WHO; 2024. ISBN 978-92-4-010449-5. Chapter 1, footnote 1 to the section Health spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, which states that the terms health spending and total health spending in the report are used synonymously with current health expenditure and that capital expenditure on health is not included.
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