Category
Health
Built for health teams deciding where spending out of pocket is growing, which age bands will be carrying it, and what that means for pricing and access.
COICOP 6 · WDP 2026.2.3
Health in numbers, 2026 to 2036
USD 6.78T
Spending in 2026
USD 11.60T
Spending in 2036
+USD 4.82T
Added by 2036
5.52%
Annual growth to 2036
USD 830
Per person a year
9.6%
Share of the global wallet
nominal USD, current prices
We map and forecast health spending across cities.
We can identify the future city markets for health.
Annual consumer spending on health, 2000 to 2040.
- New York City: USD 62bn in 2000
- Los Angeles: USD 49bn in 2000
- Tokyo: USD 36bn in 2000
- San Francisco: USD 29bn in 2000
- Chicago: USD 23bn in 2000
We analyse which demographics will contribute most to that growth.
By spending tier
- Rich: 50.9% of spending in 2026, 61.5% of the spending added by 2036
- Upper middle: 13.7% of spending in 2026, 12.7% of the spending added by 2036
- Core middle: 19.2% of spending in 2026, 15.7% of the spending added by 2036
- Lower middle: 13.4% of spending in 2026, 9.7% of the spending added by 2036
- Poor: 2.8% of spending in 2026, 0.4% of the spending added by 2036
By age band
- 65 and over: 29.5% of spending in 2026, 40.4% of the spending added by 2036
- 45-65: 27.9% of spending in 2026, 25.8% of the spending added by 2036
- 30-45: 17.8% of spending in 2026, 14.2% of the spending added by 2036
- 15-30: 13.3% of spending in 2026, 11.4% of the spending added by 2036
- 0-15: 11.5% of spending in 2026, 8.2% of the spending added by 2036
We break down health into subcategories.
Area is spending in 2026. USD 6.78T across 7 published lines of the model.
Hospital services
USD 2.07T · 30.6%
Medical services
USD 1.81T · 26.6%
Pharmaceutical products
USD 1.64T · 24.1%
Dental services
USD 549bn · 8.1%
Therapeutic appliances and equipment
USD 365bn · 5.4%
Paramedical services
USD 258bn · 3.8%
- Other medical productsUSD 94bn
Hospital services
USD 2.07T · 30.6%
Medical services
USD 1.81T · 26.6%
Pharmaceutical products
USD 1.64T · 24.1%
Dental services
USD 549bn · 8.1%
Therapeutic appliances and equipment
USD 365bn · 5.4%
Paramedical services
USD 258bn · 3.8%
Other medical products
USD 94bn · 1.4%
Five decisions a health team can settle with this data.
01
Market entry and prioritisation
The cities holding the most health spending today are not the ones adding it fastest. Across the forty largest markets in the model the spread runs from 3.5% a year to 8.7%, which is the difference between a market that transforms by 2036 and one that barely moves. We rank every city on the spending that is forming rather than the spending already there.
02
Pricing and affordability
Spending on health by rich consumers compounds at 6.40% a year, against 0.98% for the poorest. A cheaper range can hold its volume and still be defending a shrinking share of the growth, because the growth is not sitting where the volume is. We map spending power against your own price range in every market you sell in.
03
Category and portfolio strategy
Inside the category, paramedical services compounds at 6.29% a year while hospital services manages 5.19%. Those are two different shelf decisions inside one category averaging 5.52%, and the average is what most portfolio reviews are still built on.
04
Segmentation and targeting
Spending on health by the over-65s compounds at 7.04% a year, against 4.19% for the under-15s. In New York City the over-65s already hold 26% of the category. A pipeline aimed at the wrong life stage is chasing the slower half of the market, and the gap widens every year to 2036.
05
Demand forecasting and sizing
The category adds $4.82 trillion between 2026 and 2036, and none of it arrives evenly. A capacity decision taken now rests on the market that will exist in ten years rather than the one visible today. We project every market and every year to 2050.
Related categories
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How health data can help your planning
Out-of-pocket health spending is USD 6.7T in 2026 and grows by USD 4.9T by 2036. Get the deck on what households buy for their own health, who can pay for it, and where the growth lands - 190+ countries, 9,000+ cities, annual to 2050.
- Market sizing: USD 6.7T out of pocket in 2026, +USD 4.9T by 2036, USD 839 a head
- Service mix: medical goods lead in 143 markets, out-patient in 46, hospital in 5
- Where the growth lands: the US +USD 2,688bn, China +USD 620bn, India +USD 255bn by 2036
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