Ranking Countries According to Health, Equity, and Efficiency

This paper modifies and updates previous work on ranking countries according to an objective measure of health, equity, and efficiency, and explores some implications. Country Health (CH) is defined as 105 times the ratio of female life expectancy at birth (LE-F) to the product of female child mortality rate (F-U5MR), adolescent birth rate (ABR), and maternal mortality ratio (MMR): CH = (10⁵) (F-LE)/(MMR) (ABR) (F-U5MR). Health Equity is the ratio of CH to inequality in life expectancy (IneqLE), and health Efficiency the ratio of CH to per capita health expenditure (Health$/c). Data is the most recent available from reputable sources. Of the 39 countries with Equity > 2900, all have CH > 15,900. Of the 140 countries with Equity < 2500, all have CH < 12,500.  Equity is the means to CH and Efficiency, and primary health care the means to Equity.