Health · Healthcare & Policy · 5 hrs ago
Mexico spends 2.8% of GDP on public health, study says
Researchers say Mexico spends too little on public health and distributes the funding unevenly.
Public health spending is 2.8% of GDP, less than half the WHO’s 6% recommendation.
Spending per person has shifted: in 2000, people covered by social security received more than those without it, but by 2025 the latter received slightly more.
Researchers say low investment has weakened public services and left health workers in precarious jobs.
They also warn that underfunding affects service quality and coverage, while greater investment could improve health and support the economy.
The government plans a Universal Health Service to coordinate care, but its founding decree provides no extra funding; a proposed 10.6% budget increase for 2027 would raise spending to only 2.9% of GDP.
Mexico spends 2.8% of its gross domestic product on public health, according to a study, below the 6% recommended by the World Health Organization.
The study says health spending is also unequal, with less funding historically going to people without social security.
Researchers say underfunding has affected public services, population health and health workers’ conditions.
A 10.6% increase in health funding in Mexico’s 2027 budget would bring public health spending to just 2.9% of GDP, the article reports.
- Who
- Researchers from several institutions, including El Colegio de México and the National Institute of Public Health, prepared the study.
- What
- The study says Mexico spends 2.8% of GDP on public health, below the 6% recommended by the WHO.
- When
- The article was published on November 10, 2026. The study’s presentation date is not stated.
- Where
- Mexico.
- Why
- The study examines the country’s health system and finds that spending is insufficient and unequal.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Per-person spending was 8,384 pesos for people covered by social security and 2,672 pesos for those without it.
The federal government announced the creation of a Universal Health Service to coordinate services across health subsystems.
Per-person spending was 5,258 pesos for people covered by social security and 5,664 pesos for those without it.
El Economista MX published the report on the study’s findings.
The budget provides for a 10.6% increase in health funding, which would bring public health spending to 2.9% of GDP.
- Mexico’s public health spending
- 2.8% of GDP
- WHO recommendation
- 6% of GDP
- 2027 budget increase
- 10.6%
- Spending in Argentina
- 5.9% of GDP
- Spending in Colombia
- 5.7% of GDP
- Per-person spending in 2025
- 5,258 pesos for people with social security; 5,664 pesos for those without it
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