External health expenditure in Gambia
Gambia: External health expenditure was 17.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling
External health expenditure in Gambia, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of current health expenditure.
Analysis
In 2023, external health expenditure in Gambia stood at 17.4%. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 26.2% on the previous year and down 62.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, external health expenditure in Gambia peaked at 78.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 17.4%, in 2023.
Gambia ranks 42nd of 177 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
External health expenditure in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % of current health expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 78.4% | — |
| 2001 | 76.7% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 75.4% | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 73.4% | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 70.8% | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 68.6% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 65.9% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 65.7% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 62.7% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 57.3% | -8.6% |
| 2010 | 54.1% | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 51.8% | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 47.2% | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 46.0% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 28.0% | -39.2% |
| 2015 | 35.0% | +24.9% |
| 2016 | 26.7% | -23.5% |
| 2017 | 36.7% | +37.3% |
| 2018 | 39.4% | +7.5% |
| 2019 | 27.2% | -31.0% |
| 2020 | 23.6% | -13.5% |
| 2021 | 34.9% | +48.2% |
| 2022 | 23.6% | -32.3% |
| 2023 | 17.4% | -26.2% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 17.4% is below the median for low income countries, which is 27.7%, 63% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 17.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 20.5%, 85% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where External health expenditure in Gambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +48.2% | 23.6% | 34.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 69.5% | 57.3% | 78.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.2% | 26.7% | 54.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.9% | 17.4% | 34.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More health data for Gambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.27 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.15 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,044 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 700 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.9696 % 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 0.0686 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9636 % 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 external health expenditure in Gambia?
- External health expenditure in Gambia was 17.4% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest external health expenditure recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 78.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest external health expenditure recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.4% in 2023.
- How does Gambia rank for external health expenditure?
- Gambia ranks 42nd out of 177 countries with data for 2023.
- Is external health expenditure rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 62.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of External health expenditure (% of current health expenditure). 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
Share of current health expenditures funded from external sources. External sources compose of direct foreign transfers and foreign transfers distributed by government encompassing all financial inflows into the national health system from outside the country. External sources either flow through the government scheme or are channeled through non-governmental organizations or other schemes.