Domestic general government health expenditure in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Domestic general government health expenditure was 1.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Domestic general government health expenditure in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka stood at 1.2%. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 19.0% on the previous year and down 26.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic general government health expenditure in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2023.
Sri Lanka ranks 158th of 193 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Domestic general government health expenditure in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.2% | — |
| 2001 | 2.1% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 2.2% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 2.0% | -6.9% |
| 2004 | 2.1% | +6.0% |
| 2005 | 2.0% | -4.1% |
| 2006 | 2.0% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | -5.5% |
| 2008 | 1.7% | -10.1% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 1.5% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 1.5% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | -8.4% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +20.2% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -7.5% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 1.4% | -12.4% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | +21.8% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | +24.3% |
| 2021 | 2.3% | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -32.5% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | -19.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 1.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 37% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 1.2% is below the median for South Asia, which is 1.6%, 77% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.0% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.2% | 2.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More health data for Sri Lanka
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.62 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7332 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 304 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.13 % 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 0.0339 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.12 % 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 domestic general government health expenditure in Sri Lanka?
- Domestic general government health expenditure in Sri Lanka was 1.2% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for domestic general government health expenditure?
- Sri Lanka ranks 158th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is domestic general government health expenditure rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.
Download this data
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.