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UK health expenditure was £242 billion in 2024/25. Spending per person was highest in Wales, followed by Northern Ireland, then Scotland, and lowest in England.

How much does the UK spend on healthcare?

Health expenditure was £242 billion in 2024/25. This amount has increased by an average of 3.6% annually over the last 50 years. The largest single year increase was 26.6% in 2020/21, driven by covid-19. Expenditure then decreased by a total of 10.1% over the following three years, before rising by 5% in 2024/25.

The chart below shows total health expenditure (measured in 2024/25 prices) and health expenditure as a proportion of GDP over the last 50 years.

Two graphs showing how health expenditure in the UK has increased. Expenditure in cash terms has increased most years, except following a jump around the covid-19 pandemic. Expenditure as a proportion of GDP was around 4% for a period, then gradually increased to around 7-8%, with a temporary increase during covid-19 also

Source: HMT Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA), HMT GDP deflators and money GDP September 2025.

How does expenditure vary by UK country?

Responsibility for health services is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Expenditure per head was highest in Wales in 2024/25, and lowest in England. The table below shows these figures for each UK country both per head and as a percentage of gross value added (an economic measure linked to GDP).

Table showing health expenditure by country of the UK from 2020/21 to 2024/25. In all years included, total expenditure was highest in England, then Scotland, then Wales, and lowest in Northern Ireland. In 2024/25, per head and % GVA figures were highest in Wales, then Northern Ireland, then Scotland, and lowest in England.

Source: HM Treasury Country and regional analysis 2025, ONS Regional GVA

How much does the NHS spend on buildings and equipment?

Capital expenditure is the part of expenditure covering longer-term assets such as buildings and medical equipment. This was £11.5 billion in England in 2024/25.

The maintenance backlog, the amount of money needed to be invested to restore buildings, has more than doubled in real terms over the last decade in England (£6.7 billion in 2014/15, compared to £15.9 billion in 2024/25).

 

Further information

More details on the commissioning role of ICBs and the organisation of the NHS in England can be found in the Library Briefing paper: The Structure of the NHS in England.

Details of ICB funding can be found in the Library Briefing paper: NHS integrated care board (ICB) funding in England.

Statistics on the NHS more broadly are available in the Library Briefing paper: NHS Key statistics.

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