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How U.S. Healthcare Spending Per Capita Compares With Other Countries [Infographic]

This article is more than 4 years old.

During the recent Democratic debates, Senator Bernie Sanders once again lambasted the state of America's healthcare system, drawing damning comparisons with other countries, particularly Canada. The Vermont senator has also consistently criticized the "incredible corruption and greed" of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, using the price of insulin to prove his point. Two days before the second Democratic presidential debates, Sanders traveled across the border in a bus with more than a dozen American patients to purchase insulin for around one-tenth of the U.S. price. He labeled the situation "a national embarrassment".

So just how flawed is the American healthcare system and how does it compare with other countries? While there are many ways to approach that question, taking a look at healthcare spending per capita in different countries is certainly a good starting point. OECD data shows that U.S. healthcare spending per capita (including public and private spending) is higher than anywhere else in the world by a considerable margin, despite the fact that the country lags behind other nations in areas such as life expectancy and health insurance coverage.

The OECD states that the U.S. spent $10,586 on healthcare per capita in 2018, nearly double Sweden's $5,447. According to the World Bank, the U.S. had a life expectancy of 78.69 years in 2016 while Sweden's was higher at 82.20 years. What about the healthcare system in Canada which has been the focal point of all the recent comparisons? In 2018, Canadian healthcare spending per capita was $4,974 and its life expectancy figure is also higher than the U.S. at 82.30 years.

*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)

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