The level and trend of health spending in a country can be explained by demographic, social and economic factors, as well as by the financing and organisational arrangements of the health system. In 2024, on average, current health spending per capita in OECD countries was almost four times that of LAC countries, at USD PPP 6 097 compared with USD PPP 1 518. In 2024, or the latest available year, per capita health expenditure ranged from about USD PPP 105 in Haiti to USD PPP 4 003 in Chile, with Panama, Uruguay and Argentina also spending above USD PPP 3 000 per person. Cuba, the Bahamas, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago also reported spending above USD PPP 2 000 per person. On average across LAC33, government and compulsory insurance schemes accounted for about 60% of health spending, or USD PPP 905 per capita, while voluntary schemes and out-of-pocket payments accounted for the remaining 40%, or USD PPP 613 per capita. By contrast, government and compulsory insurance schemes financed around 77% of health spending in OECD countries (Figure 6.1 – left panel).
In 2024, current health expenditure accounted for 6.5% of GDP in LAC33, an increase of 0.33 percentage points (p.p.) since 2014, compared with an OECD average of 9.3% of GDP, up 0.60 p.p. (Figure 6.1 – right panel). The gap in health spending as a share of GDP between LAC and OECD countries has therefore widened slightly. Health spending exceeded 10% of GDP in Chile and Argentina, while Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador and Uruguay were also among the highest-spending countries in relative terms. At the other end of the range, health spending accounted for less than 4% of GDP in Guyana, Haiti, Venezuela and Antigua and Barbuda. Between 2014 and the latest available year, the health share of GDP fell most sharply in Cuba, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda and Haiti, while it rose by more than 2 p.p. in Chile and Trinidad and Tobago, and by more than 1.5 p.p. in Paraguay.
Overall health spending growth and economic performance shape how much countries spend on healthcare over time. Between 2019 and 2024, real per capita health spending in LAC33 grew by 1.7% per year on average, broadly in line with real GDP per capita growth (Figure 6.2). This contrasts with OECD countries, where real health spending grew faster than GDP, at 2.7% versus 1.1% per year. In LAC, real health spending increased most rapidly in Guyana, Paraguay, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Panama, where average annual growth exceeded 5%. In Paraguay, health spending growth clearly outpaced economic growth, while in Panama and the Dominican Republic it accompanied relatively strong GDP growth. By contrast, Haiti, Suriname, Cuba, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and Venezuela recorded negative real health spending growth, indicating a contraction in the real purchasing power of health systems. Guyana remains a clear outlier, with very rapid growth in both health spending and GDP, reflecting the impact of recent oil-sector developments.
On average, health capital expenditure represented 0.3% of GDP across LAC29, compared with 0.4% across OECD countries (Figure 6.2). In 2023, Panama, Bolivia, Guyana and Nicaragua reported the highest levels of health capital expenditure, at between 0.6% and 0.9% of GDP. By contrast, capital spending was below 0.1% in eight countries.
