Health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Health spending as a share of total government spending was 1.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan, 2002–2023
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan stood at 1.5%.
That represents a change of up 29.7% on the previous year and down 17.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan peaked at 5.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2022.
That places Afghanistan 195th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1.2% | — |
| 2003 | 5.5% | +350.1% |
| 2004 | 3.6% | -34.0% |
| 2005 | 3.4% | -6.2% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | -19.4% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | +15.1% |
| 2009 | 2.5% | -16.3% |
| 2010 | 2.3% | -10.3% |
| 2011 | 2.2% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | -37.4% |
| 2013 | 1.8% | +29.6% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | +8.3% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | -17.7% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | -7.0% |
| 2020 | 4.2% | +139.2% |
| 2021 | 4.0% | -6.7% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | -71.6% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +29.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.1% | 1.2% | 5.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.7% | 1.1% | 4.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More health data for Afghanistan
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.45 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.03 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 812.4 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 14,735 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 75-79, female, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 75-79, female, per capita 0.0025 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, annual growth rate 2.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Population ages 75-79, male, per capita 0.0017 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan?
- Health spending as a share of total government spending in Afghanistan was 1.5% in 2023, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest health spending as a share of total government spending recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 5.5% in 2003.
- What is the lowest health spending as a share of total government spending recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2022.
- How does Afghanistan rank for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Afghanistan ranks 195th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is health spending as a share of total government spending rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Health spending as a share of total government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Domestic general government health expenditure expressed as a percentage of total expenditure of the general government.