Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) was 4.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Current health expenditure in Sierra Leone, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 4.7% for current health expenditure in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 44.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current health expenditure in Sierra Leone peaked at 15.1% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 2023.
That places Sierra Leone 131st out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.3% | — |
| 2001 | 5.2% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 5.6% | +6.4% |
| 2003 | 5.1% | -8.9% |
| 2004 | 5.2% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 5.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 5.6% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 6.3% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 5.6% | -10.0% |
| 2011 | 6.6% | +17.1% |
| 2012 | 5.9% | -10.3% |
| 2013 | 8.5% | +42.7% |
| 2014 | 15.1% | +78.7% |
| 2015 | 12.4% | -18.1% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | -18.8% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | -40.3% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | +7.7% |
| 2020 | 5.7% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 5.1% | -10.5% |
| 2022 | 4.8% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 4.7% | -1.8% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 4.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.9%, 97% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 4.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.4%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +78.7% | 8.5% | 15.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.4% | 5.1% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.1% | 5.3% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.1% | 4.7% | 5.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More health data for Sierra Leone
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.34 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.773 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 4,209 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.6447 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0663 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.6611 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0676 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current health expenditure in Sierra Leone?
- Current health expenditure in Sierra Leone was 4.7% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 15.1% in 2014.
- What is the lowest current health expenditure recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 2023.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for current health expenditure?
- Sierra Leone ranks 131st out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is current health expenditure rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.