How the U.S. compares in health care

A look at how America rates on key health indicators

Health care around the world

Country	Total expenditure on health, % of GDP	Total expenditure on health per capita, adjusted (in U.S. dollars)	Life expectancy at birth, in years	Infant mortality, deaths per 1,000 live births	Practicing physicians, density per 1,000 population (head counts)
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Health Data, June 2009
United States	16.0	$7,290	78.1	6.7	2.4
Australia	8.7	$3,137	81.4	4.2	2.8
Canada	10.1	$3,895	80.7	5.0	2.2
France	11.0	$3,601	81.0	3.8	3.4
Germany	10.4	$3,588	79.8	3.8	3.5
Japan	8.1	$2,581	82.6	2.6	2.1
Switzerland	10.8	$4,417	81.7	4.4	3.9
United Kingdom	8.4	$2,992	79.1	5.0	2.5
Italy	8.7	$2,686	81.2	3.7	3.7
Mexico	5.9	$823	75.0	15.7	2.0

Congress currently is working on legislation to overhaul health insurance in America. Here's a look at health systems in the U.S. and other countries:

Australia
Universal coverage under a mainly tax-funded health care system

Canada
Universal coverage under a mainly tax-funded health care system, with private supplemental insurance

France
Universal coverage under an employment-based system, with supplemental private insurance, and taxes providing for the unemployed and retirees

Germany
Universal coverage under a mostly employer-employee based payment system, with nonprofit "sickness funds"

Italy
Universal coverage under a mainly tax-funded health care system

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Japan
Universal coverage under a mandatory employer-employee based national health insurance system

Mexico
Mixture of private and public systems, with public care subsidized by the government

Switzerland
Universal coverage; consumers must buy coverage from private insurers, with government subsidies

United Kingdom
Universal coverage by tax-funded, government-run health program

United States
Mixture of employer-employee based insurance and government funding (federal government pays for older adults, poor, disabled and veterans)