Life expectancy at birth continues to increase steadily in OECD countries, going up on average by 3 to 4 months each year, with no sign of slowing down. These gains in longevity can be attributed to a number of factors including improved lifestyle and better education, and progress in health care.

Infant mortality, the rate at which babies and children of less than one year of age die, reflects the effect of economic and social conditions on the health of mothers and newborns, the social environment, individual lifestyles as well as the characteristics and effectiveness of health systems.

Suicide is a significant cause of death in many OECD countries, accounting for over 150 000 deaths in 2013. A complex set of reasons may explain why some people choose to attempt or commit suicide. A high proportion of people who have attempted or committed suicide are suffering from psychiatric disorders such as severe depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The social context in which an individual lives is also important. Low income, alcohol and drug abuse, unemployment and social isolation are all associated with higher rates of suicide.

Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year, of whom more than 5 million are from direct tobacco use and more than 600 000 are non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke. Tobacco is a major risk factor for at least two of the leading causes of premature mortality – cardiovascular diseases and cancer, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, and pancreatic cancer, among others. In addition, it is a dominant contributing factor for respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Smoking in pregnancy can lead to low birth weight and illness among infants. Smoking remains the largest avoidable risk factor for health in OECD countries and worldwide.

The health burden related to harmful alcohol consumption, both in terms of morbidity and mortality, is considerable. Alcohol use is associated with numerous harmful health and social consequences, including an increased risk of a range of cancers, stroke, and liver cirrhosis, among others. Foetal exposure to alcohol increases the risk of birth defects and intellectual impairment. Alcohol also contributes to death and disability through accidents and injuries, assault, violence, homicide and suicide.

Obesity is a known risk factor for numerous health problems, including hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems (asthma), musculoskeletal diseases (arthritis) and some forms of cancer. The rise in overweight and obesity is a major public health concern, threatening progress in tackling cardiovascular diseases.

Doctors play a central role in health systems. There are concerns in many OECD countries about current or future shortages of doctors, in particular of general practitioners and doctors practising in rural regions or deprived urban areas.

Nurses are usually the most numerous health profession, outnumbering physicians on average across OECD countries by almost three to one. However, there are concerns in many countries about shortages of nurses, and these concerns may well intensify in the future as the demand for nurses continues to increase and the ageing of the “baby-boom” generation precipitates a wave of retirements among nurses. These concerns have prompted actions in many countries to increase the training of new nurses combined with efforts to increase the retention of nurses in the profession.

In most OECD countries, spending on health is a large and growing share of both public and private expenditure. Health spending as a share of GDP had been rising over recent decades but has stagnated or fallen in many countries in the last couple of years as a consequence of the global economic downturn. The financial resources devoted to health care vary widely across countries, reflecting the relative priority assigned to health as well as the diverse financing and organisational structures of the health system in each country.