The most accessible countries for health and wellbeing

At iSelect, we know how important it is to live an active lifestyle, as staying fit can help to improve mental health, physical health, and life expectancy. However, some places are better equipped than others when it comes to wellbeing, and money can cause a barrier to entry if the cost of staying fit in your country is relatively high. 

To find the areas where fitness and wellbeing are the most accessible, we ranked countries around the world on factors such as gym membership costs, walking trails, health care quality, and more. By finding an average of all of these categories, we’ve given each country a score out of 100 to show which countries have the fewest barriers to staying healthy. Read on to see how our rankings turned out. The Australian Capital Territory took the top spot in the index.

Which country is the most accessible for staying healthy?

When it comes to staying healthy, Portugal is the country with the best accessibility. People looking to exercise can enjoy any of the 8,734 walking trails on offer (that’s 84.15 per 100,000 people), or head to the gym for an average price of just €37.57 ($67.37 AUD) per month. 

When it comes to healthy eating we looked at the average cost in each country for groceries such as chicken, eggs, rice and an assortment of fruit and vegetables. Portugal came in fourth-most affordable country in our ranking with an average healthy food shop costing roughly €17.75 ($31.83 AUD). Plus, with 19.8% of its residents using smart watches (the third most in Europe), it’s clear that Portugal’s residents care about their health. With a fitness cost index score of 75.75, it’s the best rated country in the world for its affordable and accessible fitness and wellbeing initiatives. 

Which country is the least accessible for staying healthy? 

Despite having decent healthcare and a range of walking trails available, Switzerland ranks as the country where wellbeing and fitness are the least accessible, as its notoriously high prices affect gym memberships and grocery prices. 

However, Switzerland has the most walking trails per 100,000 people of any country on our list, with 174.53. It also ranks towards the middle of the pack with a 71.5 healthcare index rating. Regardless, a healthy food shop costs €50.66 ($90.86 AUD) on average (the highest in our rankings) and a typical gym membership costs €75.18 ($134.80 AUD) monthly. With a fitness accessibility index of 25.25, it’s the lowest ranking country on our list behind other underperforming areas like Italy and the USA. 

What other countries have the best fitness accessibility?

It’s not just Portugal that’s making staying healthy easily accessible and affordable, as other countries around the world have also taken steps to help make healthy eating and exercise more readily available. Here’s the rest of our top 10, so you can see where your country ranks. 

2. Poland

While Poland falls behind in some categories, like having the second fewest walking trails in Europe (16.21 per 100,000 people), it balances out with low costs and a health-focused population. A basket of healthy groceries costs as little as €15.38 ($27.58 AUD) on average in Poland, while a typical gym membership is €32.32 ($57.95 AUD) per month– the second cheapest in Europe. Plus, Poland has the highest number of smart watch users of any country in our data, with 26.5% of people monitoring their health from their wrist. It scores 73.25 in our overall rankings. 

3. Belgium

A solid all-rounder, Belgium receives a bronze medal placement with the third-cheapest gym memberships in our rankings (€32.58 or $58.42 AUD per month) and Europe’s sixth-highest healthcare index rating (75.9). It also boasts 70.89 walking trails per 100,000 residents, meaning you never have to travel far for a good hike. Scoring 65.25 in our fitness accessibility index overall, it puts up a well-balanced performance in almost all of our categories. 

4. Spain

Although Spain doesn’t come out on top in any categories, it’s another solid performer across the board. It’s the country with the second-most smart watch users, as 25.7% of respondents owned a fitness tracker. It also has the fifth-best healthcare in our rankings (77.3) and an affordable healthy food shop, averaging around €18.26 ($32.74 AUD). With an overall score of 65.00, it finishes less than one point behind Belgium in our rankings. 

5. Denmark

Denmark stands out by having the second-highest healthcare index rating of any country in our index – with a score of 78.4. Its gym membership prices of €37.95 ($68.05 AUD) per month are in line with the European average, making a good workout more affordable than in other countries. It scores 61.25 overall to round out our top 5. 

6. France

There are two categories in particular where France stands out: it has the most walking trails available in Europe (38,613), and its gym memberships are the most affordable in our data – with one month costing an average of €32.24 ($57.81 AUD). France is also among the top five countries in Europe for healthcare quality, boasting an index rating of 77.7. However, it trails in some areas such as smart watch usage, leading to a score of 59.50 overall. 

7. United Kingdom 

With 33,955 walking trails to choose from, gym memberships costing an average of £39.56 ($70.92 AUD), and a healthy food basket setting shoppers back an average of just £20.81 ($37.31 AUD), the UK puts up a strong performance for its affordable and accessible wellbeing. With a total score of 58.25, it takes the 7th spot on our list. 

8. Türkiye

Out of all the countries in our data, Türkiye has the most affordable healthy food shops, with a basket of quality groceries costing just ₺591.14 ($22.59 AUD) on average. Unfortunately, its performance in other categories brings its score down: monthly gym prices are above average at ₺2,009.22 ($76.77 AUD), and the lack of walking trails gives it an overall index rating of 52.50. 

9. Sweden

With 68.90 walking trails per 100,000 people, below-average gym prices of €35.50 ($63.65 AUD), and smart watch usage sitting at 13.4%, Sweden performs relatively well across most categories. However, its healthcare index of 68.3 is surprisingly low, which contributes to its total fitness accessibility score of 51.25 and a ninth-place finish. 

10. Germany

While Germany’s 37,557 walking trails make it the country with the second most hiking destinations in Europe, its large population means there are only 44.67 trails per 100,000 people, placing it towards the bottom of our index. However, a solid healthcare index of 71.9 and affordable gym memberships (€34.68 or $62.18 AUD per month) give it a high enough score of 50.50 to round out our top 10. 

How accessible is Australia when it comes to staying healthy?

According to our overall rankings, Australia is the 11^th most accessible country in the world for staying healthy, with an overall index score of 47.50. Its healthcare index score of 73.4 puts it in good stead, and with 69.53 walking trails per 100,000 people, it’s easy to stay fit and get stuck into nature wherever you are. However, at $72.60 AUD per month, its gym membership costs are very close to the average across our world data, and only 12.4% of the country uses a smart watch.  

In our rankings for Australian cities Bendigo ranks as the best city in the country for accessible fitness, with 40.41 hiking trails per 100,000 residents, and the highest search volume for “fitness classes” per 100k in the country – giving it an overall score of 78.72. Brisbane finishes just behind, with the fourth-cheapest gyms in the country and an overall score of 78.42. However, Melbourne ranks as the city where staying fit is the hardest, with just 18.50 trails per 100,000 people and an overall score of 11.05. 

Conclusion

With wellbeing such an important topic nowadays, making sure everyone can access a good exercise routine and healthy food is vital. As living costs continue to rise, it’s crucial to find ways to stay healthy that won’t continue to add to monthly expenses. After all, sticking to a budget shouldn’t mean putting your active lifestyle on hold.