Health Spending vs Life Expectancy: What the Data Really Shows


It started as a simple assignment. The task? Create a joint plot using Seaborn.
I went hunting for the perfect dataset and stumbled on one about health expenditure and life expectancy for the year 1970 - 2020. Sounds serious, right? But something about it piqued my curiosity. I mean…
Does the amount a country spends on health actually translate to how long its people live?
Which countries are spending big and getting results?
Are there others spending less but still thriving?
And is money the only thing that determines how long we live?
Those questions wouldn’t leave my mind. So I did what any data-curious person would do: I dug in.
Teaser
One country in particular — Japan — shocked me. Their numbers stood out so much that I paused and started researching their lifestyle habits. You'll see why in a bit.
Now, this isn’t a full-blown research paper. It’s a mini visualization project — but sometimes, a simple plot can open up big insights.
“The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.” — John Tukey
So, what did I find?
Using Seaborn’s jointplot
, I explored the relationship between health spending per capita and life expectancy across several countries. You can check out the full code and plots on my GitHub here (don’t worry, it’s beginner-friendly).
But here’s a quick spoiler:
Countries that spend more on health do tend to have longer life expectancy — up to a point.
After a certain spending level, the gains in life expectancy start to flatten.
This is something called diminishing returns — it means that after a point, adding more money (or effort) gives you less and less benefit.
Think of it like this: If you’re starving and someone gives you one slice of bread, it feels like life itself. Add a second slice? Still helpful. A tenth slice? Ehh, not so life-changing anymore.
That’s what’s happening here. For lower-income countries, a boost in health spending really moves the needle. But for higher-income countries, throwing more money doesn’t guarantee much longer lives.
Let’s look at this plot
📍 Spot Japan?
On the scatter plot, Japan sits noticeably in the red cluster — that tiny red dot pushed toward the far right, almost hugging the edge of the life expectancy axis. The KDE (the curvy side plot) stretches out in that direction too, almost like it’s highlighting Japan’s exceptional standing. That visual alone had me asking: What are they doing differently?
Visualization by author. Data from Seaborn sample datasets.
Back to Japan...
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Japan stood out on the plot. They spend far less per person than the U.S., yet have a much higher life expectancy. That made me pause. How are they doing it?
I did a bit of reading and found that Japan’s longevity is tied to more than money:
A traditional diet rich in fish, rice, and vegetables
Active daily lifestyles
Strong social ties and community
Preventive healthcare
Low obesity and smoking rates (especially among women)
It got me thinking: maybe health isn’t just about how much is spent, but how it’s spent — and what people do with the lives they live.
What does this mean?
Well, I’ll leave that partly to you. 😄
This project reminded me how powerful visuals can be — not just in presenting data, but in raising the right questions.
So I’ll flip it back to you:
What surprised you the most?
Do you think your country is spending wisely on health?
If you had control of the health budget, what would you prioritize?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop them in the comments or connect with me on GitHub, where I shared all the code, observations, and extra plots.
Final note
This was a mini visualization project, but it reminded me of why I started my 4C Nexus blog in the first place — to explore the intersections of Code, Care, Cure, and Cell.
Sometimes, one plot can lead to research rabbit holes and thoughtful reflection.
And that, to me, is the beauty of learning out loud.
Sources
Seaborn
jointplot
Documentation – for building the visualizations.World Bank / Statista on Japan’s Life Expectancy – for historical stats on Japanese longevity.
Public Health Study on Health Spending & Longevity – for deeper context around spending vs. life expectancy.
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Written by

Toluwalase Taiwo
Toluwalase Taiwo
Junior Data Scientist || ML x Bio Explorer Fascinated by where machine learning meets bio. Currently teaching myself to decode nature's mysteries through Python and ML—turns out cells might be the original data scientists, and if they could talk, they'd probably speak in binary! 🧬 I believe data holds the key to unlocking groundbreaking discoveries and telling compelling stories. Whether it's unraveling biological puzzles today or exploring new frontiers tomorrow, I'm here to learn, grow, and connect with others who share my curiosity for AI's endless possibilities.