Current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Current health expenditure was 7.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean is 7.9%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 8.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 2002.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 10th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.4% | — |
| 2001 | 6.4% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 6.3% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 6.5% | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 6.6% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 6.7% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 6.7% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 6.9% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 6.9% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 7.5% | +8.1% |
| 2010 | 7.2% | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 7.1% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 7.3% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 7.4% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 7.8% | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 7.9% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 7.8% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 7.9% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 8.4% | +6.3% |
| 2021 | 8.3% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 8.0% | -4.2% |
| 2023 | 7.9% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.7% | 6.3% | 7.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 7.1% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.1% | 7.9% | 8.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
- 7 Micronesia, Federated States of 12.9% compare
- 8 Lesotho 12.6% compare
- 9 Germany 12.3% compare
- 10 Austria 11.8% compare
- 11 Switzerland 11.7% compare
- 12 South Sudan 11.6% compare
- 13 France 11.5% compare
More health data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, annual growth rate 1.78 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per capita 0.033 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, female, annual growth rate 1.72 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per capita 0.0344 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 40-44, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 35-39, male, per capita 0.0369 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Current health expenditure in Latin America & Caribbean was 7.9% 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 Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest current health expenditure recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 2002.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for current health expenditure?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 10th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is current health expenditure rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean 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.