Compare major health and health-system indicators around the world, including life expectancy, infant mortality, health spending, physicians, hospital beds, and maternal and child health.
How to use the Health Explorer
Choose a health indicator, such as life expectancy, infant mortality, health spending, doctors, or hospital beds, and the map colors every country by its latest value. Click a country, or search for it, to see its full health profile.
What the indicators mean
- Life expectancy – how many years a newborn would live on average if today’s death rates stayed the same.
- Infant mortality – deaths of babies before their first birthday, per 1,000 live births.
- Under-5 mortality – deaths of children before their fifth birthday, per 1,000 live births.
- Maternal mortality ratio – deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes, per 100,000 live births.
- Health spending (% of GDP) – total current spending on health care, public and private, compared with the size of the economy.
- Health spending per person – the same spending in US dollars per person.
- Physicians per 1,000 and hospital beds per 1,000 – rough measures of how much health-care capacity a country has.
What the latest data shows
- Life expectancy in 2024 was about 84 years in Japan and 83.6 in South Korea, among the highest in the world. It was about 79 in the United States, 72 in India, and about 55 in Nigeria.
- Infant mortality was below 2.5 per 1,000 births in Japan and South Korea, about 5.5 in the United States, 23 in India, and about 70 in Nigeria.
- Health spending was about 16.7% of GDP in the United States, by far the highest of any large country, compared with about 12% in Germany, 11% in Japan, and 9% in South Korea.
More spending doesn’t always mean longer lives
One of the most interesting comparisons on the map is between spending and results. The United States spends much more on health care than any other country, yet its life expectancy is lower than in many countries that spend far less. Experts point to many reasons, including prices, access to care, diet, road safety, and other social factors. Health outcomes depend on much more than hospitals.
Child and maternal health
Infant and child mortality are among the clearest signs of a country’s overall development. Deaths of young children have fallen by more than half worldwide since 1990 thanks to vaccines, clean water, better nutrition, and skilled care at birth. But the gap between countries is still huge, and most remaining child deaths are preventable.
Where the data comes from
Figures come from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, which draw on the World Health Organization, the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, and national health statistics. Each value shows the latest year available. Some measures, such as physicians and hospital beds, are reported less often, so check the year next to each number.
This explorer is for general education and does not provide medical advice.
Explore more
- Population Explorer – age structure and birth rates
- Environment Explorer – air pollution and safe drinking water
- BMI Calculator – a quick personal health screening number