Current health expenditure in Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: Current health expenditure was 5.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Current health expenditure in Sao Tome and Principe, 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 Sao Tome and Principe is 5.8%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 35.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current health expenditure in Sao Tome and Principe peaked at 11.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2019.
Sao Tome and Principe ranks 109th of 193 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Current health expenditure in Sao Tome and Principe, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.3% | — |
| 2001 | 9.6% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 9.5% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 11.5% | +20.7% |
| 2004 | 10.7% | -6.5% |
| 2005 | 10.4% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 7.1% | -31.4% |
| 2007 | 7.0% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 6.0% | -14.8% |
| 2009 | 5.8% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 5.7% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 7.1% | +25.2% |
| 2013 | 8.9% | +26.4% |
| 2014 | 7.9% | -11.5% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | -17.5% |
| 2016 | 7.6% | +16.4% |
| 2017 | 7.5% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 5.9% | -20.7% |
| 2019 | 5.5% | -7.4% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | +33.6% |
| 2021 | 7.9% | +7.4% |
| 2022 | 5.8% | -26.5% |
| 2023 | 5.8% | -0.0% |
Sao Tome and Principe compared with similar countries
- Sao Tome and Principe's 5.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Sao Tome and Principe's 5.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.4%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.7% | 5.8% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.8% | 5.5% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.7% | 5.8% | 7.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sao Tome and Principe
- 106 China 5.9% compare
- 107 Luxembourg 5.9% compare
- 108 Cape Verde 5.8% compare
- 110 Saint Kitts and Nevis 5.7% compare
- 111 Liechtenstein 5.7% compare
- 112 Romania 5.7% compare
More health data for Sao Tome and Principe
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -6.25 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.35 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 793.5 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 15 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2021)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0651 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current health expenditure in Sao Tome and Principe?
- Current health expenditure in Sao Tome and Principe was 5.8% 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 Sao Tome and Principe?
- The highest recorded value was 11.5% in 2003.
- What is the lowest current health expenditure recorded in Sao Tome and Principe?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2019.
- How does Sao Tome and Principe rank for current health expenditure?
- Sao Tome and Principe ranks 109th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is current health expenditure rising or falling in Sao Tome and Principe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sao Tome and Principe 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.