Norway is fourth highest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries when comparing health expenditures per capita, according to Statistics Norway (SSB).
SSB referred to the OECD ‘Health Report – Health At A Glance’, which addresses member countries’ health systems, and the health of populations.
In order to compare member countries’ health expenses, they are presented in US dollars, and adjusted for the prices, and wage levels in each country. Using this method, Norway’s health expenditures amounted to USD 6,647 per capita in 2016. This corresponds to approximately 54,000 kroner.
The United States tops this list, while Switzerland and Luxembourg are both in front of Norway.
If you look at countries’ health expenses as a percentage of gross national product (GDP), Norway used 10.5% of GDP on health in 2016. The average for OECD countries is 9%.
The United States used a total of 17.2% of GDP on health. This is far more than the group of countries that spend the second most money – a group in which all the
Scandinavian countries are a part, as well as Germany and the Netherlands.
The OECD report also assesses life expectancy in various countries. By 2015, the average life expectancy was calculated to be 80.6 years. In Norway, men had a life expectancy of 80.5 years in 2015, while the life expectancy for women was 84.2. In the Nordic countries, men from Iceland, and women from Finland live the longest.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
