Health spending in Austria likely rose well above average in 2024, according to preliminary estimates from Statistik Austria. Compared with 2023, expenditures increased by €4.25 billion (8 percent) to €57.03 billion, the agency said Thursday. The share of health spending in GDP also climbed, reaching 11.8 percent—up 0.6 percentage points.

“This rise is mainly due to noticeable increases in all areas of the health sector, while nominal GDP grew only marginally over the same period,” said Thomas Burg, Director General for Official Statistics at Statistik Austria.

Growth in Both Public and Private Sectors
The increase affected both public and private health outlays. The federal government, states, municipalities, and social insurers covered €43.5 billion—about 76 percent of current health spending—in 2024, up 7.5 percent over 2023. By comparison, the average annual increase from 2017 to 2023 was 6.1 percent. Hospitals, outpatient treatments, long-term care, and medical aids saw especially strong gains.

Households, voluntary health insurers, non-profit organizations, and companies spent €13.53 billion—nearly 24 percent of the total—in 2024, a 9.8 percent jump. Between 2017 and 2023, this segment grew by just 2.8 percent per year on average. Private spending also surged for both inpatient and outpatient services.