Health spending as a share of total government spending in Cameroon
Cameroon: Health spending as a share of total government spending was 3.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Health spending as a share of total government spending in Cameroon, 2000–2023
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 3.9% for health spending as a share of total government spending in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 56.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, health spending as a share of total government spending in Cameroon peaked at 6.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2017.
Cameroon ranks 183rd of 195 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Health spending as a share of total government spending in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.4% | — |
| 2001 | 5.3% | +20.7% |
| 2002 | 6.4% | +20.4% |
| 2003 | 6.5% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 5.3% | -19.2% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 5.2% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 4.2% | -18.5% |
| 2008 | 3.5% | -18.1% |
| 2009 | 3.0% | -12.0% |
| 2010 | 2.7% | -12.2% |
| 2011 | 3.2% | +20.0% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | +16.2% |
| 2013 | 2.5% | -33.0% |
| 2014 | 2.9% | +17.5% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -38.3% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -59.5% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | +166.5% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | +11.4% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | +67.9% |
| 2021 | 2.9% | -21.8% |
| 2022 | 3.9% | +36.7% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.9% | 3.0% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 0.7% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.6% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 180 Azerbaijan 4.3% compare
- 181 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 4.0% compare
- 182 Nigeria 3.9% compare
- 184 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 3.6% compare
- 185 Senegal 3.6% compare
- 186 Micronesia (country) 3.4% compare
More health data for Cameroon
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7821 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 786.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 12,841 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 1.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.204 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 1.82 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.2072 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is health spending as a share of total government spending in Cameroon?
- Health spending as a share of total government spending in Cameroon was 3.9% 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 Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 6.5% in 2003.
- What is the lowest health spending as a share of total government spending recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2017.
- How does Cameroon rank for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Cameroon ranks 183rd out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is health spending as a share of total government spending rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 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.