Health in Australia

Australia is a high income country, and this is reflected in the good status of health of the population overall. In 2011, Australia ranked 2nd on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index, indicating the level of development of a country.[1] Despite the overall good status of health, the disparities occurring in the Australian healthcare system are a problem. The poor and those living in remote areas as well as indigenous people are, in general, less healthy than others in the population, and programs have been implemented to decrease this gap. These include increased outreach to the indigenous communities and government subsidies to provide services for people in remote or rural areas.

Australia's Human Development Index and component indicators for 2015 relative to selected countries and groups[2]
HDI value HDI rank Life expectancy at birth Expected years of schooling Mean years of schooling GNI per capita (PPP USD)
Australia 0.939 2 82.5 20.4 13.2 42,822
Canada 0.920 10 82.2 16.3 13.1 42,582
New Zealand 0.915 13 82.0 19.2 12.5 32,870
OECD 0.887 - 80.3 15.9 11.9 37,916
Very high HDI 0.892 - 79.4 16.4 12.2 39,605
  1. ^ Boslaugh S. Health care systems around the world: a comparative guide. California: SAGE publications; 2013. 606 p
  2. ^ "| Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2018-09-07.