Health spending as a share of total government spending in New Zealand
New Zealand: Health spending as a share of total government spending was 19.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Health spending as a share of total government spending in New Zealand, 2000–2023
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 New Zealand stood at 19.2%.
The figure is down 9.1% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, health spending as a share of total government spending in New Zealand peaked at 21.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 14.7%, in 2000.
That places New Zealand 13th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
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 New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 14.7% | — |
| 2001 | 15.2% | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 16.3% | +7.3% |
| 2003 | 16.2% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 17.0% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 17.4% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 17.9% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 18.1% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 17.5% | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 17.8% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 16.7% | -6.4% |
| 2011 | 17.1% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 18.3% | +7.4% |
| 2013 | 18.4% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 18.5% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 17.9% | -3.1% |
| 2016 | 17.9% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 18.3% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 17.5% | -4.3% |
| 2019 | 16.2% | -7.4% |
| 2020 | 16.6% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 17.3% | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 21.1% | +22.4% |
| 2023 | 19.2% | -9.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.8% | 14.7% | 18.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.7% | 16.2% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 16.6% | 21.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More health data for New Zealand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4815 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,116 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 33 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per capita 0.0287 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, annual growth rate -0.9868 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per capita 0.0303 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 10-14, female, annual growth rate -1.12 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is health spending as a share of total government spending in New Zealand?
- Health spending as a share of total government spending in New Zealand was 19.2% 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 21.1% in 2022.
- What is the lowest health spending as a share of total government spending recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.7% in 2000.
- How does New Zealand rank for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- New Zealand ranks 13th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is health spending as a share of total government spending rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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.