§ Lord Monkswellasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will list for each member of the G7 nations the percentage of GDP spent on health care costs.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health (Baroness Jay of Paddington)The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) collects and publishes figures for health spending. The table shows the figures requested for 1995, the latest year for which figures are available.
Expenditure on health care in the G7 countries, 1995 Country Public expenditure on health care as a percentage of GDP Total expenditure on health care as a percentage of GDP Canada 6.9 per cent. 9.7 per cent. France 8.0 per cent. 9.9 per cent. Germany 8.2 per cent. 10.4 per cent. Italy 5.4 per cent. 7.7 per cent. Japan 5.7 per cent. 7.2 per cent. UK 5.9 per cent. 6.9 per cent. USA 6.6 per cent. 14.2 per cent. Source: OCED 1997. These figures are not fully comparable because of differences in definitions between countries. In addition, comparisons between expenditure figures alone ignore the efficiency and effectiveness with which resources are used.