Current health expenditure in Zambia
Zambia: Current health expenditure was 6.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Current health expenditure in Zambia, 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 Zambia stood at 6.0%.
That represents a change of up 14.7% on the previous year and up 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current health expenditure in Zambia peaked at 6.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2014.
Zambia ranks 105th of 193 countries 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.1% | — |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +16.0% |
| 2002 | 5.9% | +23.2% |
| 2003 | 6.0% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 5.5% | -8.8% |
| 2005 | 6.3% | +15.8% |
| 2006 | 5.6% | -11.9% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | -18.2% |
| 2008 | 4.5% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | +16.3% |
| 2010 | 4.1% | -20.9% |
| 2011 | 4.0% | -4.2% |
| 2012 | 4.0% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 4.6% | +13.1% |
| 2014 | 3.8% | -16.3% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | +15.7% |
| 2016 | 4.5% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | +7.0% |
| 2018 | 4.8% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 6.8% | +41.6% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | -6.6% |
| 2021 | 6.6% | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 5.2% | -21.5% |
| 2023 | 6.0% | +14.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.2% | 4.1% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.6% | 3.8% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.0% | 5.2% | 6.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 102 Mongolia 6.1% compare
- 103 Morocco 6.1% compare
- 104 Iran, Islamic Republic of 6.0% compare
- 106 China 5.9% compare
- 107 Luxembourg 5.9% compare
- 108 Cape Verde 5.8% compare
More health data for Zambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7971 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 15-19, male, annual growth rate 3.06 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per capita 0.0563 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, annual growth rate 3.2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per capita 0.0476 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current health expenditure in Zambia?
- Current health expenditure in Zambia was 6.0% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest current health expenditure recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2014.
- How does Zambia rank for current health expenditure?
- Zambia ranks 105th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is current health expenditure rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.