Countries by UHC service coverage sub-index on non-communicable diseases
Costa Rica and Iceland share the top rank in the UHC service coverage sub-index on non-communicable diseases, both scoring 82 out of 100. At the other end, Timor-Leste scores 29, the lowest among 193 countries ranked. The 53-point gap between the top and bottom reflects wide global variation in coverage of hypertension, diabetes, and tobacco-related services.
Ranking 2023
Analysis
This metric measures the UHC service coverage sub-index on non-communicable diseases, based on three tracer indicators: (i) hypertension, (ii) diabetes, (iii) tobacco. It is presented on a scale of 0 to 100 index points and is one of the four sub-indexes underlaying the overall UHC service coverage index. The data come from the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code: SH_UHC_SCI_NCD), covering 193 countries with values from 2023. All 193 data points are classified as official quality, and the full range runs from 29 to 82, a spread of 182.8 percent. Sixteen extreme outliers were identified at the 3-standard-deviation threshold.
The top of the ranking is led by Costa Rica and Iceland, both at 82 (rank 1), followed by Panama at 81 (rank 3). Canada and El Salvador share rank 4 at 80, and Colombia and Nicaragua share rank 6 at 79. Ghana reaches rank 8 at 77, a notable placement among sub-Saharan African nations. Honduras, Mali, Nigeria, and Venezuela all share rank 9 at 76. Brazil and New Zealand share rank 13 at 75. The upper tier is geographically diverse, with Latin American, African, Pacific, and high-income countries all represented within the top 20.
Several counterintuitive placements appear across the ranking. Nigeria (rank 9, score 76) and Mali (rank 9, score 76) score higher than Germany (rank 64, score 67), Japan (rank 75, score 66), and France (rank 160, score 52). France, typically associated with comprehensive health systems, scores only 52 and ranks 160th. Similarly, Singapore ranks 19th at 73 while Switzerland ranks 92nd at 64. At the lower end, Kiribati scores 35 (rank 192) and Timor-Leste scores 29 (rank 193), both well below the next-lowest group. Indonesia scores 42 at rank 186, and Solomon Islands and Lebanon both score 38 at rank 188.
This sub-index is built on only three tracer indicators covering hypertension, diabetes, and tobacco, which means it does not capture the full breadth of non-communicable disease services such as cancer screening or cardiovascular treatment beyond hypertension. Countries with strong tobacco control policies or hypertension management programs may score disproportionately high relative to their broader NCD capacity. Conversely, high-income countries with more complex NCD landscapes may score lower if their tobacco prevalence or hypertension management rates are not comparatively favorable on these specific tracers. Scores are modeled estimates based on available survey and administrative data, and reporting capacity varies across countries, which can affect comparability.
Methodology
Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH_UHC_SCI_NCD, for the reference year 2023. The metric is defined as follows: UHC service coverage sub-index on non-communicable diseases is based on three tracer indicators: (i) hypertension, (ii) diabetes, (iii) tobacco. It is presented on a scale of 0 to 100 index points and is one of the four sub-indexes underlaying the overall UHC service coverage index. The ranking covers 193 countries, all with data from within the last 7 years (100 percent recency). All 193 data points are classified as official quality, meeting the 70 percent threshold. The index ranges from 29 (Timor-Leste) to 82 (Costa Rica, Iceland), a spread of 182.8 percent. Sixteen extreme outliers were flagged using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. Average year-over-year change is 0.7 percent, indicating low volatility. Higher values indicate greater service coverage. No microstates under 1 million population were identified in this dataset.