The bar chart illustrates the health expenditure as a percentage of GDP across twelve European nations in 2002, 2007, and 2012. Overall, it is evident that Switzerland consistently allocated the largest share of its GDP to healthcare, whereas Estonia remained at the bottom of the spectrum throughout the decade.
Switzerland maintained a stable expenditure of 11% across all three years. Similarly, Belgium remained constant at 10%. In contrast, France experienced a notable peak in 2007 at 11%, before declining to 9% by 2012. Norway showed a gradual increase, rising from 9% in 2002 to 10% in 2012. Meanwhile, the Netherlands saw a decline from 10% in 2002 to 8% in 2012.
Regarding the remaining countries, Estonia displayed the lowest and most stable figures, consistently at 3%. Lithuania and Poland both saw modest growth, with Lithuania rising from 5% to 6% and Poland from 6% to 7% over the ten-year period. Luxembourg’s expenditure fluctuated, dropping from 8% in 2002 to 7% in 2012. Slovenia saw a slight increase to 9% by 2012, while Spain remained steady at 8% throughout the entire timeframe.