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Emily Hung

Public healthcare expenditure as a proportion of Hong Kong’s gross domestic product grew by nearly 50 per cent over the past decade, driven by the city’s ageing population, new data shows.
The domestic health accounts for the 2023-24 financial year, revealed by the Health Bureau on Thursday, detailed the spending trends and levels in both the public and private sectors.
Hong Kong spent HK$130 billion (US$17 billion) of public money on healthcare in those 12 months, or 4.3 per cent of GDP.
The amount was a 48 per cent increase from the HK$63.8 billion, or 2.9 per cent of GDP, spent in the 2013-14 financial year.
The growth was similar to the rise in the proportion of people aged 65 or older in the population, which climbed from 14.2 per cent in 2013 to 21.8 per cent in 2023.
Deputy Secretary for Health Raymond Wu Wai-man said the ageing population was a key driver of the higher public healthcare expenditure, alongside inflation and the increase in service capacity, and he expected the trend would persist.
“The demand and cost of healthcare services will increase, but the actual rate will depend on the population changes, economic development and people’s health condition, as we seek to enhance primary healthcare services to reduce the demand for secondary and tertiary care,” Wu said in a technical briefing.


Primary healthcare refers to the first medical contact point for patients in the community, while secondary and tertiary refer to specialist and hospital care.
“The Health Bureau has rolled out measures to reform the system, hoping to enhance its resilience and sustainability in response to the ageing population,” Wu said.
The government earlier projected the elderly population would increase to 2.44 million in mid-2036 and reach 2.75 million by mid-2046.
Older residents spend more than 95 per cent of their hospital days at public healthcare facilities.
For every 1,000 elderly people, 3,472 days of inpatient services in public hospitals were recorded, a rate 5.3 times higher than that of those under the age of 65.
As a result, the average per capita service cost for an elderly person was 4.3 times that of other residents.
To improve early detection and intervention, which can reduce the chance of costly hospitalisation, Hong Kong increased its spending on primary healthcare to HK$73 billion in 2023-24, accounting for 29.3 per cent of total spending on health.
Hong Kong has increased its spending on primary healthcare, which reached HK$73 billion in 2023-24 and accounted for 29.3 per cent of total spending on health.
Ten years ago, the spending was HK$36 billion, taking up 28 per cent of the healthcare expenditure.
Another “success”, Wu said, was the voluntary health insurance scheme launched by the government in 2019, which had become an important source of funding for private healthcare services.


By the end of 2024, there were more than 1.4 million voluntary health insurance policies taken out in Hong Kong, covering a third of the individual indemnity hospital insurance market.
Total private spending covered by insurance policies, including both group medical and privately purchased schemes, reached HK$40 billion, up from HK$18 billion a decade earlier.
About HK$30 billion was spent on secondary and tertiary care, accounting for 44.8 per cent of the total, up from 33.4 per cent in 2013-14.
Wu said the government would continue to encourage residents to use health insurance by amending laws to increase price transparency at private hospitals.
He stressed that Hong Kong was one of the most efficient places for public healthcare spending, compared with other economies with a similar proportion of elderly, although each had its own healthcare financing model.
Hong Kong spent 4.3 per cent of its GDP on public healthcare, while Japan spent 10.6 per cent, the United States and the United Kingdom spent 9 per cent, and Finland spent 8.5 per cent.
Singapore, mainland China and Switzerland outperformed the city, spending 2.8 per cent, 2.9 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.


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City spent HK$130 billion of taxpayer money on healthcare in 2023-24 compared with HK$63.8 billion in 2013-14


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Spending on healthcare as proportion of Hong Kong’s GDP grows by 50%

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}City spent HK$130 billion of taxpayer money on healthcare in 2023-24 compared with HK$63.8 billion in 2013-14

City spent HK$130 billion of taxpayer money on healthcare in 2023-24 compared with HK$63.8 billion in 2013-14