
Total health expenditure as share of GDP in Italy 2005-2021
European framework
The Italian share was slightly over the European average, which was equal to 8.8 percent in 2018. However, some of the major European economies such as France and Germany, addressed a much higher share of the GDP to healthcare. As a matter of fact, in 2019, France and Germany spent 11.1 and 11.7 percent of their GDP on health respectively.
Private healthcare spending
In the last few years, conversely with the decrease of public healthcare resources, the private spending on health increased. The private health expenditure peaked in 2019 at 40 billion euros . Specialist examinations and dental checks were the most burdening headings for Italians in terms of private healthcare costs.