Credit: OECD

On Thursday 14 November 2025, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its “Health at a Glance 2025” report, presenting updated indicators assessing population health and health system performance across the 38 OECD member countries.

According to the report, the first chapter provides a comparative overview of country performance, while the second focuses on a current topic: diseases that affect men and women differently. The OECD highlighted both strong results and areas for improvement in Luxembourg, as well as the importance of reliable data for evaluating health system performance and developing policies tailored to population needs.

The Ministry of Health noted that the Health Directorate, the General Inspectorate of Social Security and the National Health Observatory jointly contributed to the report by supplying national data and comments relating to Luxembourg.

The comparative analysis shows that Luxembourg performs favourably relative to the OECD average on most indicators. Life expectancy reached 83.4 years in 2023, an increase of 0.7 years since 2019, placing Luxembourg seventh alongside Sweden. The male-female gap of 3.3 years is among the smallest in the OECD.

The mortality rate stood at 652 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with the OECD average of 861. Differences between men and women in cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality are among the lowest in the OECD, and avoidable mortality, both through prevention (84 deaths per 100,000) and treatment (39 per 100,000), remains comparatively low.

Regarding risk factors, adult indicators are close to the OECD average. Among adolescents, however, some results are less favourable, with daily consumption of sugary drinks among the highest (24% in 2022). These findings underline the need for reinforced prevention efforts, the ministry stated.

In terms of health system coverage, household out-of-pocket payments represented 1.6% of total household spending in 2023 (OECD average: 3.2%). Nationally, households contributed 10% of total health expenditure (OECD average: 19%). Public satisfaction with the availability of quality healthcare reached 86%, the second-highest position alongside Belgium and Denmark, after Switzerland.

Hospital infrastructure indicators show 3.9 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants (OECD average: 4.2) and an average hospital stay of seven days (OECD average: 6.5). Luxembourg counted 4 practising physicians per 1,000 inhabitants in 2023, of whom 30% were general practitioners.

According to the OECD, Luxembourg’s total health expenditure per inhabitant in 2024 ranked among the highest in the organisation, with the public health insurance system covering 78% of costs - one of the highest shares in the OECD. 

The full OECD report is available at: http://santesecu.public.lu/fr/publications/h/health-glance-europe-2025.html