Living longer and living better: an OECD perspective on Polish healthcare

By Srdan Tatomir

On today’s World Health Day Poland can celebrate the highest level of life expectancy in its history, after it bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1). It is now 74.8 years for men and 82.4 years for women, longer than in many Central and Eastern European and Baltic countries. But Poland still lags behind the majority of OECD countries. Circulatory system diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension and stroke, account for nearly half of all deaths, while cancer contributes to around a further fifth. As our latest Economic Survey discusses, Poland can do more to boost healthcare.

Figure 1 – Life expectancy in Poland is historically high but there is room to catch up with average OECD life expectancy

Poland has historically been among the lowest spenders on healthcare in the OECD. Before the pandemic, overall health spending accounted for 6.5% of GDP. Successive governments have recognised the need to improve healthcare and are implementing reforms. Current plans are to bring overall health spending closer to the OECD average of around 9% by 2027. Policy efforts should focus on key priorities to maximise the positive impact of additional spending on health outcomes. 

To deliver quality healthcare services an adequate healthcare workforce is essential. While the relative number of doctors in Poland is around the OECD average, the number of nurses is comparatively low (Figure 2). The number of training places for nurses has risen, but more are needed especially because many nurses are close to or over retirement age. Recent increases in salaries should help: in 2022 (the latest year for which the OECD has data), nurses’ salaries stood at 1.6 the national average wage, among the highest in the OECD in relative terms. When adjusted for purchasing power, salaries are now higher in Poland than in countries Polish nurses traditionally emigrated to, such as the UK and Ireland. However, working conditions matter as well. More explicit guidance on working practices, such as setting limits on the number of patient consultations and overtime hours, could improve working conditions and help attract more people to healthcare.

Figure 2 – The number nurses is relatively low compared to other OECD countries

2022, or latest available

Improving health requires faster treatment. Poland has given cancer patients priority in the health system and there is no cap on treatment costs. Yet cancer is often detected too late. Despite free nationwide screening programmes available since the early 2000s, participation rates are below the EU average, particularly among less educated people. Targeted outreach would help raise participation.

In the medium to long term, better prevention of key risky health behaviours could lead to better health. Alcohol consumption is among the highest in the OECD and smoking rates should be lowered further (Figure 3). Excise duties to make alcohol and tobacco less affordable are rising, and this could be complemented by restricting their availability to maximise the impact on consumption. Introducing taxes on unhealthy foods with high content of salt, sugar and fat could steer people towards healthier eating as has been done in Mexico and Hungary.

Figure 3 – Reducing alcohol and tobacco consumption would improve health outcomes

2022, or latest available

Higher efficiency of the healthcare system can free up resources to fund better healthcare. Poland has made great progress in digitalising its healthcare services and the maturity of its e-health system has been ranked the fifth highest in the EU in 2022. User charges, with exemptions for children and those on low incomes, could be introduced to reduce the number of unnecessary consultations and improve the use of scarce resources. Consolidating the hospital network to reduce capacity, while better reflecting local health needs and improving hospital management quality, could reduce costs without compromising quality or access to care.

Learn more by visiting the OECD’s Poland Economic Snapshot page.

References:
OECD (2025), OECD Economic Surveys: Poland 2025, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a35a56b6-en