Health in Switzerland

Health in Switzerland relates to a variety of issues. Namely, water and sanitation, diet and fitness, various addictions, mental fitness, communicable diseases, hygiene and the environment.

In the 2023 OECD "Health at a Glance" report, Switzerland's health statistics indicate several advantages relative to the OECD averages. The country records a life expectancy of 83.9 years, which is 3.6 years higher than the OECD average. Its preventable mortality rate is 94 per 100,000 people, which is below the OECD average of 158 per 100,000. The treatable mortality rate in Switzerland, at 39 per 100,000, is also below the OECD average of 79 per 100,000. Additionally, 3.9% of the Swiss population reports their health as bad or very bad, less than the OECD average of 7.9%. The prevalence of diabetes in Switzerland is lower than the OECD average. Switzerland performs better than the OECD benchmarks on 95% of the health indicators analyzed.^[1]

A new measure of expected human capital calculated for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016 and defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status was published by The Lancet in September 2018. Switzerland had the twelfth highest level of expected human capital with 25 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years.^[2] According to a study conducted by Swiss insurance company CSS in 2023, about one third of the Swiss "feel unhealthy or ill".^[3]