No matter where in the world you choose to call home, everyone deserves access to quality, subsidised healthcare. Unfortunately, very few countries offer this luxury, making it a crucial factor for anyone thinking about moving abroad. New research has revealed which countries offer the most peace of mind and security when it comes to healthcare, and the results are promising for those living in Australia.
To determine the world’s best healthcare systems, Remitly analysed 82 countries on two key factors. They first examined each country’s current health expenditure, calculated as the percentage of GDP dedicated to healthcare. They then combined this data with the healthcare system score from CEOWorld’s Healthcare Index, which takes into account the availability and cost of medicine, government preparedness, and strength of medical infrastructure and professionals.
Australia’s universal healthcare system is widely regarded as one of the best in the entire world, with our trusty green Medicare cards granting us access to most essential medical services. Despite ongoing challenges like rural access, public hospital wait times and gaps in mental health services, we’re fortunate to have skilled doctors and access to the latest medical technology. Given all this, it checks out that Australia’s healthcare system ranks as the world’s second best, just behind South Korea.
While our nation’s GDP healthcare expenditure is higher at 10.5 per cent, compared to South Korea’s 9.7 per cent, the East Asian country’s healthcare index score of 77.7 topped Australia’s 74.1.
Majority of the top ten countries included in the list of the world’s best healthcare are in Europe, with Sweden in fourth, Germany in fifth, the Netherlands in sixth, Norway in seventh, Ireland in eighth and Switzerland in tenth. The final two spots went to Canada in third and the United States in ninth. You can find out more about the research in Remitly’s 2025 Immigration Index here.