Health at a Glance 2025

Health systems across OECD countries face a common set of pressures: aging populations, rising chronic disease burdens, persistent inequities in access and outcomes, and growing strain on health workforces. This annual flagship compendium from the OECD provides the most comprehensive comparative overview of health status and health system performance across member and partner countries, drawing on the latest available data to track progress against key indicators spanning life expectancy, disease burden, risk factors, access to care, quality of services, and health spending.

The 2025 edition includes a thematic chapter on gender and health, examining how biological, behavioral, and structural differences between men and women shape health outcomes across the life course. The analysis covers differences in life expectancy, disease burden, risk factor exposure, and health-seeking behavior, as well as persistent gaps in the availability and applicability of sex-disaggregated clinical evidence. The thematic focus reflects broader momentum within the OECD and across international health policy toward closing women's health gaps as both a health equity and economic priority.

Across the comparative data, the report highlights the ongoing epidemiological transition toward non-communicable diseases as the dominant driver of mortality and morbidity, and examines where health systems are investing and underinvesting in prevention. Data on health spending, workforce capacity, and service utilization provide a detailed foundation for benchmarking national performance and identifying where structural reforms could deliver the greatest gains.

Health at a Glance is widely used by health ministries, researchers, and international organizations as a reference point for policy design and cross-country learning. Its annual release makes it a foundational tool for anyone tracking the evolving state of health system performance across high- and middle-income countries.