Which countries have the best healthcare systems?

The choice of the country of destination for an expatriation is often influenced by the quality of its health system. If you are looking for a country where you can benefit from an efficient healthcare system, this article is for you! We have gathered here the countries that offer the best healthcare systems in the world, based on key evaluation criteria.

Criteria for assessing the quality of health systems

To rank healthcare systems around the world, surveys use a wide variety of indicators.

• The EHCI report rates healthcare systems based on criteria such as respect for patients’ rights and information, access to care, services offered to patients, prevention, treatment outcomes, etc.

• The Commonwealth Fund has five groups of indicators: access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and healthcare outcomes Thus, data relating to safety, waiting times, administrative organisation, and equal access to care are studied.

• Bloomberg evaluates the world's healthcare systems by taking into account the cost of care as a percentage of GDP, the cost of care per capita, and life expectancy.

Rankings of the world's best healthcare systems

In its 2021 study entitled Mirror, Mirror 2021 – Reflecting Poorly: Health Care in the U.S. Compared to Other High-Income Countries, the Commonwealth Fund examined the performance of healthcare systems in 11 countries using indicators from five domains. Their objective? To evaluate the USA’s healthcare performance by comparing it to other countries’ healthcare systems. The USA came out last in the ranking resulting from this study:

1. Norway

2. The Netherlands

3. Australia

4. United Kingdom

5. Germany

6. New Zealand

7. Sweden

8. France

9. Switzerland

10. Canada

11. United States of America

In Bloomberg's Most Efficient Health Care 2020 ranking, which looks back at the Covid-19 pandemic, no fewer than 56 countries were examined. Asia is the clear winner of this ranking.

1. Singapore

2. Hong Kong

3. Taiwan

4. South Korea

5. Israel

6. Ireland

7. Australia

8. New Zealand

9. Thailand

10. Japan

Europe's best healthcare systems

The Health Consumer Powerhouse regularly publishes a report on health care systems in Europe: the Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI). This study ranks 35 countries according to the quality of their healthcare systems, taking into account 46 indicators. The top 10 best rated countries are as follows:

1. Switzerland

2. The Netherlands

3. Norway

4. Denmark

5. Belgium

6. Finland

7. Luxembourg

8. Sweden

9. Austria

10. Iceland

As you will have understood, the choice of the country of destination for an expatriation should not be made lightly, and the quality of the health system is an important criterion to take into account. The countries that offer the best healthcare systems in the world are those that have invested in modern healthcare infrastructure, quality training for healthcare professionals, healthcare coverage accessible to all and strict regulations to guarantee safety and quality. care. By choosing to live in one of these countries, you will be able to benefit from an excellent quality of care and protect yourself financially thanks to health insurance adapted to your needs. Do not hesitate to contact our advisors at APRIL International to help you find the expat health insurance that best suits your situation.