How many developed countries in the world do not have nationalized health care

1. One big outlier: the U.S. in most summaries

Analyses and encyclopedic overviews included here emphasize that nearly all industrialized nations operate some form of publicly funded or universal health coverage and identify the United States as the principal developed-country exception — described as “almost entirely alone” among developed nations lacking universal healthcare ^{[1] [2]}. Britannica’s overview likewise lists many developed countries with national or universal programs and contrasts them with the U.S. system’s hybrid mix of public programs and private insurance ^[3].

2. Why sources avoid a single count

The sources show that definitions matter — “universal,” “nationalized,” “single‑payer,” and “publicly funded” are different concepts — so most lists map coverage schemes rather than produce a single numeric tally of developed nations without nationalized care ^{[4] [5] [6]}. Visual Capitalist and World Population Review present maps and lists of universal coverage but highlight variation in models and scope, explaining why a blunt count is rarely reported ^{[7] [4]}.

3. What “nationalized” vs. “universal” means in the coverage

Several sources note different models: national health services (tax‑funded, government‑run facilities like the UK), national health insurance (government pays but care may be delivered by private providers, e.g., Germany, Canada’s provincial single‑payer variants), and mixed systems with mandatory private insurance ^{[8] [3]}. Because many developed countries use mixed or insurance‑mandate models that still achieve universal coverage, calling them “nationalized” would be misleading unless you adopt a narrow definition ^{[8] [3]}.

4. Examples cited as having universal systems

Multiple overviews list many developed countries with universal systems — UK, Canada, Japan, most of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and Nordic states — demonstrating that universal coverage is the norm among developed economies ^{[8] [3] [2]}. Wikipedia’s comparative article similarly catalogs national schemes across many countries and underlines the prevalence of publicly funded care in industrialized nations ^{[9] [2]}.

5. Developing-country exceptions and nuance

Lists of countries without universal care (e.g., World Atlas) focus on lower‑ and middle‑income states such as Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, and Yemen and emphasize coverage gaps rather than a developed-country category ^[10]. Those examples show that absence of a national scheme is more commonly a feature of less wealthy states, reinforcing the point that among developed countries the absence of universal/public coverage is uncommon ^[10].

6. What the available sources do not say

None of the provided sources offers a definitive, up‑to‑date numeric count of “developed countries that do not have nationalized health care” as a single statistic; instead they provide lists, maps, and qualitative statements (for example, that the U.S. is a prominent exception) ^{[7] [1] [2]}. If you want a strict numeric answer, available sources do not mention a precise count using a uniform definition.

7. Competing perspectives and hidden framings

Some outlets frame “universal” as equivalent to “free at point of care,” while others include social‑insurance models that rely on payroll taxes or regulated private insurers — these framing choices drive conclusions about who “has” nationalized care ^{[8] [5] [3]}. Advocates for nationalization point to equity and access; critics emphasize differences in funding, private participation, and outcomes — debates reflected in the differing lists and explanations across the sources ^{[3] [8]}.

8. Practical takeaway for your question

Based on the supplied reporting, the safest, evidence‑backed statement is: most developed countries have public or universal coverage and the United States is commonly cited as the main wealthy exception; the provided sources do not supply a single numeric total of developed countries without nationalized health care ^{[1] [2] [3] [7]}. If you want a precise count, we need a clear working definition of “developed” and “nationalized” and then a data source or map that applies those definitions consistently.