Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) in Zambia
Zambia: Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) 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 (% of GDP) (Global Health) 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% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 6.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 6.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.4%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
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
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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 8,894 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.68 % 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 0.0743 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.69 % 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 0.0744 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.