External health expenditure in Jamaica
Jamaica: External health expenditure was 2.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
External health expenditure in Jamaica, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of current health expenditure.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 2.6% for external health expenditure in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 126.4% on the previous year and up 224.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, external health expenditure in Jamaica peaked at 2.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2000.
Jamaica ranks 86th of 177 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
External health expenditure in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % of current health expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.2% | — |
| 2001 | 0.5% | +127.4% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | +13.0% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +147.9% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | -28.8% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | +14.8% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +27.5% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | -13.2% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | +45.2% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | -8.6% |
| 2011 | 1.8% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | +40.8% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -68.9% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | +45.7% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | +14.3% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | -7.5% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | +6.5% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 1.2% | -9.1% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | -7.4% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | +126.4% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 2.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.0%, 2.5× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 2.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.9%, 3.0× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where External health expenditure in Jamaica 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +147.9% | 0.6% | 1.5% |
| 2001 | +127.4% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| 2023 | +126.4% | 1.1% | 2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.2% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.5% | 0.8% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More health data for Jamaica
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -3.12 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.3325 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,308 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 31 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -1.64 % 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 0.0278 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.6 % 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 external health expenditure in Jamaica?
- External health expenditure in Jamaica was 2.6% 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 Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest external health expenditure recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2000.
- How does Jamaica rank for external health expenditure?
- Jamaica ranks 86th out of 177 countries with data for 2023.
- Is external health expenditure rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 224.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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.
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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.