ES+ | No.3 | 2025/2026 A country in good health I ncreased life expectancy, coupled with low birth rates,spending and with public-private cooperation as the cor- will lead the world to experience one of the greatestnerstone of provision. All of this makes Spain an interna- demographic transformations in history in the comigntional benchmark in health management, as well as fertile decades. Estimates from the World Health Organisationground for research in life sciences and the development (WHO) suggest that by 2050, the number of people overof leading business groups in the health sector. 65 will double and their share of the total population willJaime del Barrio, senior advisor for the health and life rise from 11% in 2020 to 22%. sciences sector at EY, notes that Spain “usually ranks highly Today, Spain is already at the forefront of the challengein reports by the WHO, Bloomberg Global Health Index, posed by managing population ageing, with the highest lifeWorld Population Review, Healthiest Countries and the expectancy in the European Union (83.2 years in 2022) andEuro Health Consumer Index by Country” and he points also the highest life expectancy in good health: from the ageout that the Spanish healthcare system’’ is internationally of 65, men in Spain have a healthy life expectancy of 18.4 yearsrenowned for its structural soundness, its capacity for in- (compared to 17.4 years in the European Union as a whole)novation in digital health and for having highly qualified and women of 22.4 years (21 years in the EU as a whole).and recognised professionals in specialities including car- Although healthcare spending in Spain is below the EUdiology, oncology, public health and neurology”. average, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-An example of the strength of Spain’s healthcaresys- operation and Development (OECD), the country remainstem and the population’s confidence in it can be seen in committed to universal healthcare coverage, with a health-the 6,464 organ transplants performed in the country in care system that accounts for a high proportion of public2024, which is a new all-time record. Spain had 52.6 organ 65