Health spending as a share of total government spending in Kenya
Kenya: Health spending as a share of total government spending was 8.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Health spending as a share of total government spending in Kenya, 2000–2023
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 8.7% for health spending as a share of total government spending in 2023.
That represents a change of up 21.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, health spending as a share of total government spending in Kenya peaked at 9.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 6.8%, in 2017.
Kenya ranks 119th of 195 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.
Health spending as a share of total government spending in Kenya, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.1% | — |
| 2001 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7.1% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7.0% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 7.0% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 6.9% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 6.8% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 7.0% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 7.2% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 7.2% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 7.2% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 8.0% | +10.2% |
| 2012 | 7.4% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 7.1% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 7.8% | +9.7% |
| 2015 | 8.1% | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 8.0% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 6.8% | -15.4% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | +6.3% |
| 2019 | 8.2% | +14.0% |
| 2020 | 8.9% | +8.3% |
| 2021 | 9.3% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 8.7% | -6.8% |
| 2023 | 8.7% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.0% | 6.8% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 6.8% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.9% | 8.7% | 9.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 116 Burkina Faso 8.8% compare
- 117 Sao Tome and Principe 8.8% compare
- 118 Philippines 8.8% compare
- 120 Turkmenistan 8.6% compare
- 121 Greece 8.6% compare
- 122 Mongolia 8.6% compare
More health data for Kenya
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6026 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,119 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 16,059 deaths (2100)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 3,992 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 27 (2024)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2024)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 751 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is health spending as a share of total government spending in Kenya?
- Health spending as a share of total government spending in Kenya was 8.7% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 9.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest health spending as a share of total government spending recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.8% in 2017.
- How does Kenya rank for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Kenya ranks 119th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is health spending as a share of total government spending rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 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.