Healthcare in Germany

Germany has a universal multi-payer health care system. It is financed through a combination of statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) and private health insurance (Private Krankenversicherung).

Germany pioneered social health insurance in 1883. The first law covered certain groups of workers and raised national coverage to about 5–10 percent of the population. Universal coverage was reached gradually and achieved by 1988.

In 2010 the health sector’s turnover was about US$369 billion (€287 billion), equal to 11.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and about US$4,500 (€3,510) per capita. According to the World Health Organization, the system was 77% government-funded and 23% privately funded in 2004. Total health spending in 2001 was 10.8 percent of GDP.

Germany’s health outcomes are generally high. In 2004 male life expectancy was 78 years, ranking 30th worldwide. Physician density reached 4.5 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2021, up from 4.4 in 2019. Infant mortality was 4.7 per 1,000 live births.

The Euro Health Consumer Index ranked Germany seventh in 2015, describing it as one of the most consumer-oriented healthcare systems in Europe, with patients able to access almost any type of care without major restrictions.