International comparisons
Using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) System of Health Accounts, Australia’s health spending to GDP ratio ranked between 18th and 8th among all OECD countries from 2000 to 2017 (Figure 5).
Before the GFC, in 2007, Australia’s health spending to GDP ratio ranked 10th of OECD countries. During the GFC, many OECD countries experienced very low (even negative) GDP growth rates and their health spending to GDP ratios increased. Australia’s rank in health spending to GDP ratio dropped to 16th in 2009 and 18th in 2010. In recent years (2014 to 2017), while growth in health spending was relatively high in Australia (5.0% per year on average, 13th in OECD), Australia’s GDP growth rate was only 3.7% per year on average (21st in OECD). As a result, Australia’s ranking grew to eighth with a ratio of 9.2% compared with the OECD median of 8.1% in 2017 (Figure 5).
See International comparisons of health data.