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OECD Health Data 2012

How Does Portugal Compare
Total health spending accounted for 10.7% of GDP in Portugal in 2010, more than one percentage point
higher than the OECD average of 9.5%. The United States is, by far, the country that spends the most on
health as a share of its economy, with 17.6% of its GDP allocated to health in 2010, followed by several
European countries including the Netherlands (12.0%), France and Germany (11.6% each).

Despite allocating a relatively high proportion of its GDP to health, Portugal spent only 2728 USD on
health per capita in 2010 (adjusted for purchasing power parity), a lower figure than the OECD average of
3268 USD. The United States spent the most on health per capita in 2010 (8233 USD), followed by
Norway and Switzerland.

17.6
12.0
11.6 11.6
11.4 11.4
11.1
11.0
10.7
10.5
10.2
10.1
9.6 9.6 9.6 9.5 9.5 9.4
9.3 9.3 9.2 9.1 9.0 9.0 8.9
8.0 7.9 7.9 7.8
7.5
7.1 7.0
6.3
6.2 6.1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Health expenditure as a share of GDP, OECD countries, 2010
Public Private
% GDP
8233
5388
5270
5056
4786
4464 4445 4395
4338
3974 3969
3758 3718 3670
3433
3309 3268 3251
3076 3035 3022
2964 2914
2728
2428
2165
2095
2035
1884
1601
1389
1294
1202
916 913
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Health expenditure per capita, public and private expenditure,
OECD countries, 2010
Public Private
1. In the Netherlands, it is not possible to distinguish clearly the public and private share for the part of health expendit ures related to investments.
2. Total expenditure excluding investments. Source: OECD Health Data 2012, June 2012.
US$ PPP per capita

Data are expressed in US dollars adjusted for purchasing power parities (PPPs), which provide a means of comparing spending between countries on a common base. PPPs are
the rates of currency conversion that equalise the cost of a given basket of goods and services in different countries.
2

Health spending in Portugal increased in real terms by 2.3% per year on average between 2000 and 2009,
but this growth rate slowed down to 0.6% only in 2010. Several other OECD countries also experienced a
marked slowdown or even a reduction in health spending in 2010, following the recession and the need for
fiscal consolidation.

The public sector is the main source of health funding in all OECD countries, except in the United States,
Chile and Mexico. In Portugal, 65.8% of health spending was funded by public sources in 2010, less than
the OECD average of 72.2%.

Resources in the health sector (human, physical, technological)

Portugal had 3.8 physicians per 1000 population in 2010, more than the OECD average of 3.1. However,
it is important to note that the number for Portugal refers to all doctors licensed to practice, including
those who may not be practicing, thereby resulting in an over-estimation compared with most other OECD
countries which report only practicing doctors.

Although the number of nurses per capita in Portugal has doubled over the past two decades, rising from
2.8 nurses per 1000 population in 1990 to 5.7 in 2010, Portugal still lags behind the OECD average of 8.7
nurses per 1000 population.

The number of acute care hospital beds in Portugal was 2.8 per 1000 population in 2010, below the OECD
average of 3.4. In line with many OECD countries, the number of hospital beds per capita in Portugal has
fallen gradually over time, coinciding with a reduction of average length of stays in hospitals and an
increase in the number of day surgery.

During the past decade, there has been rapid growth in the availability of diagnostic technologies such as
computed tomography (CT) scanners and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units in most OECD
countries. In 2008 (latest year available), Portugal had 9.2 MRIs per million population in 2008, less than
the OECD average of 12.5. However, the number of CT scanners in Portugal, at 27.4 per million
population in 2008, exceeded the OECD average of 22.6.

Health status and risk factors

Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades, due to
improvements in living conditions, public health interventions and progress in medical care. In 2010, life
expectancy at birth in Portugal was 79.8 years, which is equal to the OECD average. Life expectancy was
highest in Japan with 83 years, followed by Switzerland, Spain and Italy.

The proportion of smokers among adults has shown a marked decline over the past decades in most OECD
countries. Portugal is among the OECD countries with the lowest rate of adults who smoke every day,
with 18.6% in 2006 (latest year available), below the OECD average of 21.1%. Sweden, Iceland, the
United States and Australia have achieved even more progress in reducing tobacco consumption among
adults, with current smoking rates at 15% or less.

At the same time, obesity rates have increased in recent decades in all OECD countries, although there are
notable differences. In Portugal, the obesity rate among adults based on self-reported height and weight
was 15.4% in 2006, about equal to the average for the 29 OECD countries that are providing self-
reported data. This rate is also almost equal to the obesity rate in Spain (16% in 2009), but higher than in
Italy (10%) and France (13%). Obesitys growing prevalence foreshadows increases in the occurrence of
health problems (such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases), and higher health care costs in the future.

More information on OECD Health Data 2012 is available at www.oecd.org/health/healthdata.

For more information on OECD's work on Portugal, please visit www.oecd.org/portugal.