Some European governments spend considerably more on health care than others. For example, France and Germany have the highest spending on health care relative to GDP in the EU. This follows data from the statistical bureau Eurostat.

In 2017, the figure was 11.3% in both countries. In second place is Sweden with 11%. However, if we also look at the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, the unqualified leader is Switzerland with 12.4%.The countries that spend less than 9.9% of the EU average on health care are Spain (8.9%) and Italy (8.8%). The UK with 9.6% does not stand out in this respect.The European Health Consumers Index (EHCI) has been tracking international data on the efficiency of national systems since 2005. It takes into account 46 indicators. These include: access to care, treatment outcomes, and range and coverage of services.

While EU countries spent €978 billion on health care in 2019, they spent €1,073 billion in 2020. The increase in costs was mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic, Eurostat reported.

Relative health spending was highest in Austria and the Czech Republic (9.2 percent of GDP), followed by France (9 percent). Latvia (4.8 percent), Poland and Ireland (5.4 percent) were the lowest. Estonia spent just under 6 percent of GDP on health care.

Health care costs rose the most in Cyprus, where they rose from 3.5 percent to 5.9 percent of GDP in 2020. In Malta, they rose from 5.2 to 7.2 percent, and in Hungary from 4.5 to 6.4 percent.