The statistics in this chapter relate to a number of aspects of health in Ireland. The sources of the data are the System of Health Accounts 2016 release and The Well-being of the Nation 2017 publication.
| Table 4.1 Current health expenditure in Ireland, 2011 to 2016 | ||||||
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Current health expenditure (€bn) | 18.4 | 18.9 | 18.6 | 18.8 | 19.5 | 20.3 |
| Current health expenditure % GDP | 10.7 | 10.8 | 10.3 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Current health expenditure % GNI* | 14.0 | 14.2 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 11.3 | 10.7 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
| Ireland's Health Care Expenditure by Financing Scheme, 2016 | |
| Government | 72.0699248537234 |
| Voluntary Health Care Payments | 14.9394861811637 |
| Household Out-of-Pocket | 12.9905889651129 |
Interactive tables: StatBank link
Ireland’s current health expenditure was €20.3 billion in 2016, representing 7.4% of GDP. In 2011 current health expenditure was €18.4 billion or 10.7% of GDP. Overall there was a 10% increase in health expenditure in Ireland between 2011 and 2016.
The majority of health expenditure (72%) was funded by government, with the balance funded by private sources including health insurance and out-of-pocket expenditure.
The percentage of the population that reported their general health to be either good or very good was 86% in 2015. This is a fall from the 2011 figure of 88%. After a fall in the levels between 2011 and 2012, the percentage of those aged 16 and over that rate their health as good or very good has increased each year.
| Year | |
| 2011 | 88 |
| 2012 | 79 |
| 2013 | 81 |
| 2014 | 85 |
| 2015 | 86 |
The expected number of healthy life years for a person born in Ireland in 2015 is 67.3. This is an improvement on 2014 which was 66.9. There has been an upward trend in the number of healthy life years since 2006. These numbers have been adjusted to take into account the number of males and females in the population and present an average across both genders.
| Year | |
| 2006 | 64.0 |
| 2007 | 64.3 |
| 2008 | 64.3 |
| 2009 | 64.6 |
| 2010 | 66.4 |
| 2011 | 67.2 |
| 2012 | 67.2 |
| 2013 | 66.9 |
| 2014 | 66.9 |
| 2015 | 67.3 |
The percentage of people who were classified as overweight or obese in 2015 was 60%. This had risen to 62% in 2017. A person is classified as overweight if their Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds 25 and is classified as obese if their BMI is 30 or higher.
| Year | |
| 2015 | 60 |
| 2017 | 62 |
Binge drinking is defined by health experts, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), as consuming six or more standard drinks in one sitting, which is the equivalent of three or more pints of beer or six or more pub measures of spirits. In 2015, 39% of those aged 15 and older binge drink on a regular basis. This fell slightly in 2016 to 37%, and increased to 39% in 2017.
| Year | |
| 2016 | 39 |
| 2016 | 37 |
| 2017 | 39 |
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