Healthcare expenditure as a share of GDP in Ireland 1980-2022

Total expenditure on health as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) in Ireland amounted to just 7.1 percent in 2020, an increase from the previous year. The year 2022 saw a decrease of total health expenditure at 6.1 percent of GDP. Between 2009 and 2013, spending on health in Ireland was over ten percent of its GDP before declining again since 2014.

Health expenditure in Ireland compared to Europe

In comparison to other European countries in 2021, Ireland ranked considerably low in terms of health spending as a share of GDP. Top of the list was Germany, which spent 12.8 percent of its’ GDP on healthcare in this year. While France and Austria both spent over 12 on health. The UK, Ireland’s closest neighbor, spent 11.9 percent of its GDP on health.

Trend of healthcare workers in Ireland

In 2021, there were almost 78.3 thousand individuals employed at hospitals in Ireland, since the year 2000 this figure has increased by over 31 thousand. Similarly in the period since 2000 the number of general practitioners in Ireland has more than doubled to some 4.3 thousand in 2021.