It is twice as big as the market in France, three times as big as the Italian market, and four times as big as the market in the United Kingdom. Some additional facts and general remarks are important for an understanding of the health care market. The population is growing. 80 million people join the world's population annually, equivalent to the number of inhabitants of Germany. The global population reached 6 billion people in the year 2000, and hence have exactly doubled since 1960.
People now live longer, too.
At the beginning of this century, life expectancy was below 50 years. From 1950 to today, this figure has increased by 7 years and now stands at 73 for men and nearly 80 for women. Our understanding of health has changed as well. The definition of health has been expanded. There is an increasing tendency toward subjective well-being instead of just more quality of life.