Skip to main content
Fiscal Sustainability

Health Outcomes vs Economic Resources

How well do countries convert economic resources into mortality outcomes? Explore the Preston curve, efficiency rankings, and the relationship between wealth, inequality, and death rates.

Note on methodology

GDP per capita (PPP) is used as a proxy for economic resources available for health. It does not directly measure health spending but strongly correlates with it. Death rates are age-standardised per 100,000 population. Efficiency scores compare actual mortality against what the Preston curve predicts for a given GDP level.

Avg GDP / Capita
—
PPP, current intl $
Avg Death Rate
—
per 100,000
Correlation (R)
—
ln(GDP) vs death rate
Countries Analysed
—
with GDP & mortality data
The Preston Curve: GDP vs Mortality
Each dot is a country. Size = population. Colour = region. Dashed line = log-linear best fit (Preston curve).
Efficiency Rankings
Score = expected death rate ÷ actual death rate. Above 1.0 = better than expected for GDP level.
Top 10 Most Efficient
Bottom 10 Least Efficient
Disease Composition by Income Group
Average death rates for communicable diseases, NCDs, and injuries across World Bank income groups
GDP vs Cause-Specific Mortality
Select a cause to see how GDP correlates with specific death rates
Inequality & Mortality
Gini coefficient vs total death rate (countries with available Gini data)
Country Rankings
All countries sorted by efficiency score. Click column headers to re-sort.
Country GDP / Capita Death Rate Expected Rate Efficiency Score Region
Loading data…
Country Deep-Dive
Select a country to update the Dependency Ratio, Workers per Retiree, and Fiscal Scissors charts below
Old-Age Dependency Ratio
People 65+ per 100 working-age (15–64) population. Dashed line = global average.
Workers per Retiree
Working-age population (15–64) per person 65+. Lower values signal greater fiscal strain.
The Fiscal Scissors
Health spending (% of GDP) rising while working-age share shrinks — the growing gap that threatens fiscal sustainability.
Cost per DALY Averted by Region
Estimated cost-effectiveness of health spending across income groups

Lower values indicate more cost-effective health systems. Low-income countries often achieve greater health gains per dollar spent on basic interventions. Data derived from WHO GHED and IHME GBD estimates.

“Save a Life” Cost Calculator
How much does it cost to save one statistical life in different countries?

Estimates based on published cost-effectiveness literature (DCP3, WHO-CHOICE). Actual costs vary by setting. One statistical life saved ≈ 30 DALYs averted.

The Medicine Paradox
Why countries that spend the most on healthcare don't always have the lowest death rates

Health Sustainability and Efficiency

Which countries get the most health from their wealth?

Not all countries convert economic resources into health outcomes equally. The Health Sustainability tool examines the relationship between national income and mortality, identifying which countries achieve better-than-expected outcomes and which fall short.

Using the Preston curve framework and country-level data from the World Bank and IHME, this tool ranks countries by their health efficiency. Explore how policy choices, healthcare investment, and social determinants create wide variations in mortality even among countries with similar economic resources.

Frequently Asked Questions
What is health sustainability in the context of mortality?

Health sustainability measures how efficiently a country converts its economic resources into health outcomes — specifically, lower mortality rates. A country with high sustainability achieves lower death rates than its GDP per capita would predict, suggesting effective health systems and public health policies.

Which countries are the most health-efficient?

Countries like Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh often outperform their income peers by achieving relatively low mortality rates despite modest GDP. This reflects strong primary healthcare systems, high vaccination coverage, and effective public health programmes.

How is health efficiency calculated?

Health efficiency is estimated by comparing a country's actual age-standardised death rate to the rate predicted by its GDP per capita using the Preston curve. Countries below the curve (lower mortality than expected) are more efficient; those above it are less efficient.

Related Explorations