Health care system in Italy - Statistics & Facts

Italy's health care system is a national health service based in regions. The system provides universal coverage free of charge for all Italian citizens, as well as foreign citizens living in the country with a regular permit. The national healthcare system (in Italian, Servizio Sanitario Nazionale - SSN) is mainly funded through national and regional taxes, supplemented by private expenditure and insurance schemes. In 2020, total health expenditure in Italy accounted for 9.7 percent of the country’s GDP. Public funding made up approximately three-quarters of total health care spending.

Health care system & professionals

While the central government provides guidelines, setting the fundamental principles and standards of the health care system, the regions are responsible for allocating and managing the resources, as well as for providing and promoting health care services. The fact that the system is, to some extent, decentralized, however, leads to great disparities in the quality and the accessibility of health services across regions. Despite this, the majority of Italians are satisfied with the national health services, and have a high level of trust in the system as a whole, and in particular in family doctors. Family doctors, or General Practitioners (GP), represent the first link between patients and the national health system (for individuals under the age of 16 this link is represented by pediatricians). Italy also boasts being one of the countries with the highest density of doctors, with an average of 4 physicians per 1,000 population.

Hospitals

When it comes to managing hospitals, public funds are allocated by regional health units to public and accredited private hospitals. The majority of hospitals in Italy are public and are either managed directly by local health units or operate as semi-independent public enterprises. In recent years, the number of hospitals has decreased, which, as a consequence, led to a decrease in the number of beds. In spite of this, the large majority of Italians are still satisfied with the medical care they received at hospitals. Regardless of regional disparities, structural issues and cuts in funding, the system has proved to be resilient and Italy is listed among the countries with one of the best health care systems worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, however, has put the system under considerable pressure with Italy being one of the countries hardest hit.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Aug 30, 2022

Key insights

Health expenditure as share of GDP
9.5%
Public funding for the national health system
121.4bn EUR
Private healthcare expenditure
41bn EUR
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Total health expenditure as share of GDP in Italy from 2005 to 2021

Health Economics

Total health expenditure as share of GDP in Italy 2005-2021

Annual private healthcare spending in Italy from 2012 to 2021 (in billion euros)

Health Economics

Annual private healthcare spending in Italy 2012-2021

Estimated share of private healthcare spending covered by supplementary medical insurance in Italy in 2019, by macro-region

Health System

Private healthcare spending covered by supplementary medical insurance in Italy 2019

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