The Dutch spent €120 billion on healthcare last year, a rise of 6% on 2024, national statistics agency CBS said on Thursday.
Spending on healthcare accounts for 10% of GDP, the same as in 2022 at the end of the coronavirus pandemic, the CBS said. The figures focus on medical and nursing services and do not include spending on long-term care in nursing homes.
The amount spent by patients on healthcare rose 6.7%, with fees and direct contributions accounting for most of the increase.
Compared with the rest of Europe, the Netherlands spends a similar proportion of GDP on healthcare as Portugal, Finland and Slovenia.
Germany topped the list in 2024 – the last year for which pan-European figures are available, spending over 12% of GDP on healthcare. Romania, with almost 6%, was bottom of the list.
Healthcare in the Netherlands is funded by the treasury, health insurance and direct contributions and payments.
