Brazil has one of the best heath-care systems in the world with a ratio of doctors to people that would make the developed world proud. The Brazilian health system consists of a large public, government managed system, which serves the majority of the population and a private sector, managed by health insurance funds and private entrepreneurs. The constitution gives Brazilian citizens the right to receive free medical assistance from the public system as well as getting the cost of private providers reimbursed by the government.

Health and sanitary conditions vary widely from region to region. The large cities have competent physicians, many of which are trained abroad, but there is a lack of doctors, hospitals, and nurses in many small towns in the countryside. Men have a life expectancy of 68 years and women 76 years.