External health expenditure in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: External health expenditure was 28.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
External health expenditure in Sierra Leone, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of current health expenditure.
Analysis
The most recent figure for external health expenditure in Sierra Leone is 28.5%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 7.0% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, external health expenditure in Sierra Leone peaked at 52.8% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2000.
Sierra Leone ranks 22nd of 177 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
External health expenditure in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of current health expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.0% | — |
| 2001 | 9.1% | +200.2% |
| 2002 | 14.1% | +54.8% |
| 2003 | 8.0% | -43.0% |
| 2004 | 15.0% | +86.7% |
| 2005 | 17.8% | +18.6% |
| 2006 | 22.1% | +24.3% |
| 2007 | 18.9% | -14.4% |
| 2008 | 19.7% | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 24.1% | +22.0% |
| 2010 | 28.9% | +20.3% |
| 2011 | 28.6% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 21.0% | -26.6% |
| 2013 | 29.8% | +41.8% |
| 2014 | 52.8% | +77.2% |
| 2015 | 52.5% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 42.9% | -18.1% |
| 2017 | 34.8% | -19.1% |
| 2018 | 28.9% | -16.9% |
| 2019 | 32.2% | +11.5% |
| 2020 | 31.9% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 25.7% | -19.6% |
| 2022 | 26.7% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 28.5% | +7.0% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 28.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 27.7%, 1.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 28.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 20.5%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where External health expenditure in Sierra Leone 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +200.2% | 3.0% | 9.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.2% | 3.0% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.2% | 21.0% | 52.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 25.7% | 31.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More health data for Sierra Leone
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.34 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.773 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,199 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,209 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 38 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.6447 % 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 0.0663 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.6611 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- External health expenditure in Sierra Leone was 28.5% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 52.8% in 2014.
- What is the lowest external health expenditure recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for external health expenditure?
- Sierra Leone ranks 22nd out of 177 countries with data for 2023.
- Is external health expenditure rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.