Healthcare expenditure in Romania was 4.99% of GDP in 2016, half the EU average

Healthcare expenditure in Romania reached only 4.99% of the Gross Domestic Product in 2016, half the average in the European Union (9.9%), according to Eurostat.

This is the lowest percentage recorded among the EU Member States. France boasts the highest level of healthcare expenditure, 11.5% of GDP, followed by Germany (11.1% of GDP) and Sweden (11%). At the opposite end, in 12 EU Member States, health expenditure was less than 7.5% of GDP.

Immediately above Romania is Luxembourg, where only 5.47% of GDP is allocated to health, but Eurostat stresses that this is due to the fact that the Gross Domestic Product in the case of Luxembourg is high (some 2.5 times higher than the EU average).

Comparatively, in Bulgaria, health expenses reach 8.23% of GDP, in Hungary - 7.13% of GDP, and in Poland - 6.52% of GDP.

According to Eurostat data, the percentage of GDP allocated to health increased slightly in Romania, from 4.94% in 2015 to 4.99% in 2016, so that in 2017 it has probably reached 5.16%.

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