Spending, Outcomes, Resilience
How much the world spends on health, what it gets in return, and where the gaps still are. World Bank health-expenditure and life-expectancy series joined with WHO GHED, IHME Global Burden of Disease, Johns Hopkins GHS, Pharma Intelligence R&D and WHO Mental Health Atlas snapshots.
What Each Country Commits
Live health expenditure as a share of GDP across the full roster, with life expectancy overlaid on the right axis. The bars are sorted by spending and the line refuses to follow them — the first and most important fact about health systems is that money alone does not buy years.
Spending vs Outcomes
Health spending per capita on the x-axis, life expectancy on the y-axis. Most countries cluster along a curve of diminishing returns; the US is the outlier that pays much more and lives shorter.
Life-Expectancy Divergence
1990-2023 average life expectancy by World Bank income group. Convergence stalled after 2015 and briefly reversed during COVID. The HIC-LIC gap is still ~16 years.
Pandemic Preparedness
Johns Hopkins Global Health Security Index + WHO JEE core-capacity scores. Even the highest-ranked countries fell short during COVID; the ranking system itself is being re-evaluated.
The Pharma Industry
Top-15 pharmaceutical firms by 2024 R&D spend. Concentrated in the US (7), Europe (7) and Japan (1). Chinese firms are growing fast but not yet in the top-15 by absolute R&D.
Obesity vs Undernutrition
The 'double burden' paradox: countries battling obesity and undernutrition simultaneously. Ultra-processed cheap calories meet inadequate micronutrient intake in the same population.