Domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Domestic general government health expenditure was 1.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa is 1.9%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 10.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 2.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 2002.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 34th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.6% | — |
| 2001 | 1.6% | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | -11.4% |
| 2003 | 1.8% | +27.6% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 1.8% | -3.0% |
| 2006 | 1.8% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 1.7% | -7.0% |
| 2009 | 1.9% | +12.7% |
| 2010 | 1.9% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | -6.2% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | +6.3% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | -7.6% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | +16.1% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 1.9% | -6.9% |
| 2023 | 1.9% | +1.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +27.6% | 1.4% | 1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Population ages 15-64, male, annual growth rate 3.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total, per capita 0.4038 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, annual growth rate 2.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female, per capita 0.2837 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, total, annual growth rate 3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, male, per capita 0.2801 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 45-49, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Domestic general government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa was 1.9% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 2002.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for domestic general government health expenditure?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 34th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is domestic general government health expenditure rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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.