Current health expenditure in Arab World
Arab World: Current health expenditure was 5.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Current health expenditure in Arab World, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, current health expenditure in Arab World stood at 5.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.6% on the previous year and up 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current health expenditure in Arab World peaked at 5.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2008.
Arab World ranks 30th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Current health expenditure in Arab World, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.9% | — |
| 2001 | 4.2% | +7.1% |
| 2002 | 4.2% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 4.0% | -4.9% |
| 2004 | 3.7% | -6.6% |
| 2005 | 3.4% | -7.6% |
| 2006 | 3.4% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | -4.5% |
| 2009 | 4.3% | +27.5% |
| 2010 | 3.9% | -9.4% |
| 2011 | 3.8% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 3.9% | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 4.2% | +6.6% |
| 2014 | 4.5% | +8.1% |
| 2015 | 5.0% | +11.3% |
| 2016 | 5.3% | +5.5% |
| 2017 | 5.2% | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | -5.7% |
| 2019 | 4.9% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 5.7% | +15.7% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | -8.0% |
| 2022 | 4.7% | -11.3% |
| 2023 | 5.2% | +10.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.8% | 3.4% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.6% | 3.8% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 4.7% | 5.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
- 27 Portugal 10.2% compare
- 28 New Zealand 10.1% compare
- 29 Netherlands 10.0% compare
- 30 Slovenia 9.9% compare
- 31 Brazil 9.7% compare
- 32 Yemen 9.7% compare
- 33 Montenegro 9.7% compare
More health data for Arab World
- Population ages 70-74, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, female, per capita 0.0103 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, annual growth rate 4.03 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, per capita 0.0096 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, annual growth rate 5.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, annual growth rate 3.04 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current health expenditure in Arab World?
- Current health expenditure in Arab World was 5.2% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest current health expenditure recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 5.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest current health expenditure recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2008.
- How does Arab World rank for current health expenditure?
- Arab World ranks 30th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is current health expenditure rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Arab World data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Current health expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Level of current health expenditure expressed as a percentage of GDP. Estimates of current health expenditures include healthcare goods and services consumed during each year. This indicator does not include capital health expenditures such as buildings, machinery, IT and stocks of vaccines for emergency or outbreaks.