Domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho
Lesotho: Domestic general government health expenditure was 5.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho stood at 5.8%.
That represents a change of down 10.8% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho peaked at 6.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 2005.
That places Lesotho 37th out of 193 countries 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.
Domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.9% | — |
| 2001 | 3.6% | +24.0% |
| 2002 | 3.2% | -11.7% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 3.0% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 2.3% | -24.6% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | +35.2% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | +52.2% |
| 2008 | 4.4% | -5.8% |
| 2009 | 4.9% | +11.3% |
| 2010 | 4.0% | -18.2% |
| 2011 | 4.9% | +23.9% |
| 2012 | 5.6% | +14.0% |
| 2013 | 6.1% | +8.8% |
| 2014 | 5.8% | -5.1% |
| 2015 | 5.6% | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 5.6% | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | +8.0% |
| 2018 | 5.6% | -7.3% |
| 2019 | 6.8% | +20.7% |
| 2020 | 4.9% | -27.9% |
| 2021 | 4.4% | -10.0% |
| 2022 | 6.6% | +49.4% |
| 2023 | 5.8% | -10.8% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 5.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.9%, 3.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 5.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.2%, 4.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.5% | 2.3% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.6% | 4.0% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.4% | 4.4% | 6.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More health data for Lesotho
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.05 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4669 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,227 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 382 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2020)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.8108 % 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 0.0548 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.7473 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho?
- Domestic general government health expenditure in Lesotho was 5.8% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 2005.
- How does Lesotho rank for domestic general government health expenditure?
- Lesotho ranks 37th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is domestic general government health expenditure rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Domestic general government health expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Public expenditure on health from domestic sources as a share of the economy as measured by GDP.