OECD Report: Israeli Lifespan Longer Than OECD Average, But Expenditures Lower

Expenditures on health care in Israel are lower than average in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, but the Israeli lifespan is longer than the OECD average, a new report by the organization reveals. In OECD economies, the average outlay for health care is 8.8% of GDP, while in Israel that figure is 7.7%.

The average outlay by country is skewed by the very large amount spent in the United States on health care. With 16.9% of the U.S. GDP going to health care, the U.S. by far leads the list of OECD countries in spending. Switzerland, where 12.2% of GDP is dedicated to health care, comes in second, followed by Germany, France and Japan, where 11% of GDP is dedicated to health-care spending. Israel follows, and the rest of the 32-member OECD group spends less than Israel does. Turkey, where 4.2% of GDP is spent on health care, comes in last.

In dollar terms, however, Israel lags behind the OECD average. Israel spends an average of $2,780 per person on health care, compared to the OECD average of some $4,000. However, again that figure is skewed by U.S. outlays, which amount to well over $10,000 per person according to the report.

Israel performs very well in most measures of health. The average lifespan for Israelis is 82.6 years, compared to 80.7 years on average for OECD countries; Israel also is nearly the best for avoidable mortality rates, meaning that the health system is efficient at saving lives. It performs only on average, however, for treating chronic diseases, the report showed.