Health expenditure rose to €538.2 billion in Germany in 2024, or €6,444 per capita, a 7.6% increase on the previous year, according to data from the country’s federal statistics office (Destatis).
The upward trend in healthcare spending was also reflected in the share of health expenditure in Germany’s GDP, which reached 12.4% in 2024, up 0.6 percentage points on the previous year.
Healthcare expenditure triples
Over the past 30 years, health expenditure in Germany has more than tripled: in 1994, total spending was €175.3 billion, equivalent to €2,161 per capita and 9.5% of GDP, Destatis noted.
Statutory health insurance remains the largest contributor to healthcare financing, accounting for 55.9% of total health spending, or €300.8 billion in 2024. This represents a 7.8% increase (€21.7 billion) compared to 2023.
Private households and non-profit organisations were the second-largest contributors, spending €65 billion, up 5.4% from the previous year. Expenditure from private health insurance also rose sharply, increasing by 9.7% (€3.9 billion) to €44.8 billion, representing 8.3% of total health spending.
Elsewhere, social long-term care insurance saw the strongest growth among all categories, rising by 11.3% (€6.5 billion) to €64.7 billion.
Healthcare services
In terms of the different healthcare services, outpatient care accounted for the largest share, €259.4 billion or 48.2% of total expenditure, Destatis noted, covering services such as physician consultations and pharmacy provision. Inpatient and partially inpatient facilities, including hospitals and rehabilitation centers, accounted for €197.7 billion (36.7% of spending).
Other institutions, such as public health offices, the Robert Koch Institute, and the Federal Institute for Public Health, saw a decrease in expenditure by €1.3 billion (18.5%) to €5.9 billion, reflecting the phase-out of COVID-related emergency spending. Despite this, when compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019, public health spending increased by 61.5%, highlighting long-term investments in public health infrastructure.
Among specific services, nursing and long-term care accounted for €135.9 billion (25.3% of total spending), the largest single expenditure category, rising by €14.2 billion (11.6%). Pharmaceutical spending also grew significantly, by €7.2 billion (9.3%) to €85.1 billion, partly because of the expiration of one-time manufacturer discounts in 2023.
Projections for 2025 suggest that total health expenditure will continue to rise sharply, reaching €579.5 billion, an increase of €41.3 billion (7.7%) compared to 2024. Read more here.
