The average cost of healthcare in 21 different countries

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The average cost of healthcare in 21 different countries

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Will Russell/Stringer/Getty

Switzerland spends about $8,000 on healthcare per capita.

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  • The United States spends the most money per person on healthcare.
  • Twenty-one countries spent more than $3,000 on healthcare per capita in 2017, according to data from OECD.
  • Despite spending more money than any other country on healthcare costs, health outcomes aren't any better in the US.

Americans pay a lot for healthcare.

Depending on where they live, typical workers shelled out between $4,500 and $8,300 for healthcare in 2017. But the US government pays even more.

According to data from OECD, the US spent $10,209 on healthcare per capita, or per person, in 2017. That's more than any other country in OECD's 36-country consortium, and over $2,000 more than Switzerland, the second-highest spending country.

In a review published in March 2018 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that the US spent about twice as much on healthcare as other high-income countries, Business Insider's Lydia Ramsey reported. And yet, higher spending didn't translate to better outcomes, nor is healthcare used more frequently in the US, she wrote.

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"The researchers found that what's different, as far as US healthcare spending goes, is what the country spends on labor, goods like prescription drugs, and administrative costs," Ramsey wrote.

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The OECD data measured total healthcare costs for 36 countries, which consists of the cost of healthcare goods and services, personal healthcare, and collective services, including administration fees.

Below is a list of the countries that spent more than $3,000 on healthcare per capita in 2017:

1. United States - $10,209

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2. Switzerland - $8,009

3. Luxembourg - $6,475

4. Norway - $6,351

5. Germany - $5,728

6. Sweden - $5,511

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7. Ireland - $5,449

8. Austria - $5,440

9. Netherlands - $5,386

10. Denmark - $5,183

11. France - $4,902

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12. Canada - $4,826

13. Belgium - $4,774

14. Japan - $4,717

15. Iceland - $4,581

16. Australia - $4,543

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17. United Kingdom - $4,246

18. Finland - $4,173

19. New Zealand - $3,683

20. Italy - $3,542

21. Spain - $3,371

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