Although the COVID-19 caused a global health end economic crisis, global healthcare spending still plunged significantly in 2020. Last year, consumers worldwide spent $4.73trn on healthcare, $130bn less than in 2019.
According to data presented by Finaria, global consumer healthcare spending is expected to jump by $330bn and hit $5.06trn in 2021. The increasing trend is forecast to continue in the following years, with the figure growing by 25% and reaching $6.3trn by 2025.
Consumer Health Spending to Grow by $330B Per Year
The last two decades have witnessed substantial growth in consumer health spending, with the figure rising from $3.25trn in 2010 to $4.38trn in 2017, revealed Statista, IMF, World Bank, and Eurostat survey.
In the next twelve months, private households and non-profit institutions serving households included in this segment spent $4.61trn on healthcare, a $230bn increase in a year. The upward trend continued in 2019, with the global consumer healthcare spending rising to $4.86trn that year.
However, unlike the previous financial crisis, the COVID-19 crisis triggered a significant drop in healthcare spending. With patients feeling reluctant to go to hospitals amid pandemic and the massive cancellations and postponements of non-urgent medical check-ups, global consumer healthcare spending plunged to $4.73trn in 2020.
Statistics show per capita consumer spending on healthcare dropped to $633.4 in 2020, down from $657.7 in 2019.
However, the Statista survey showed the global consumer healthcare spending is expected to jump by $1.3trn in the next four years, growing by around $330bn per year. By 2025, per capita consumer spending is set to reach $815.8, up from $672.2 in 2021.
The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country. Over the last five decades, the difference between health spending as a share of the economy in the US and other developed countries has swelled.
According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, the US was relatively on pace with other countries until the 1980s, when its health spending grew significantly faster relative to its GDP.
In 2020, the United States spent over $4trn or 19% of its GDP on health consumption, compared to 12% in Switzerland as the next highest comparable country. The US consumer health spending hit almost $3trn, or 62% of global consumer healthcare spending last year.
Chinese households spent $561.8bn on healthcare last year ranking second on this list. Japan, Germany, and Brazil followed with $122.3bn, $102bn, and $86.5bn, respectively.
Statistics show that consumer health spending per resident in the United States was $8,971 in 2020, four times Australia’s value as the second-ranked country globally.
Switzerland ranked third with $1,821 in health spending per capita, almost five times less than the US. Singapore, Germany, and South Korea followed with $1,571, $1,218, and $1,120, respectively.
