Domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq
Iraq: Domestic general government health expenditure was 6.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq, 2003–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of general government expenditure.
Analysis
In 2023, domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq stood at 6.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.9% on the previous year and up 160.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq peaked at 7.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2015.
That places Iraq 150th out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq, year by year
| Year | % of general government expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3.1% | — |
| 2004 | 3.0% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 3.2% | +7.2% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | +52.1% |
| 2008 | 4.1% | -10.6% |
| 2009 | 4.7% | +14.2% |
| 2010 | 4.8% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 4.8% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 2.4% | -51.0% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | -29.0% |
| 2016 | 6.0% | +256.0% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | -20.2% |
| 2018 | 6.4% | +34.7% |
| 2019 | 6.0% | -6.8% |
| 2020 | 6.2% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 7.0% | +13.4% |
| 2022 | 5.8% | -16.4% |
| 2023 | 6.2% | +5.9% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 6.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.6%, 58% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 6.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 9.6%, 65% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +256.0% | 1.7% | 6.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.7% | 3.0% | 4.7% | 7 |
| 2010s | 4.2% | 1.7% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.3% | 5.8% | 7.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More health data for Iraq
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.4 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.9773 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 898.9 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 5,830 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.988 % 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 0.0587 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9818 % 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 Iraq?
- Domestic general government health expenditure in Iraq was 6.2% 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 Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 7.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest domestic general government health expenditure recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2015.
- How does Iraq rank for domestic general government health expenditure?
- Iraq ranks 150th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is domestic general government health expenditure rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 160.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq 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 general government expenditure). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 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 total public expenditure. It indicates the priority of the government to spend on health from own domestic public resources.