Out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-pocket expenditure was 13.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of current health expenditure.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho stood at 13.2%.
That represents a change of up 3.5% on the previous year and down 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho peaked at 39.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2019.
That places Lesotho 153rd out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of current health expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 39.7% | — |
| 2001 | 28.4% | -28.5% |
| 2002 | 30.1% | +6.2% |
| 2003 | 32.5% | +7.7% |
| 2004 | 31.5% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 34.4% | +9.2% |
| 2006 | 30.0% | -12.7% |
| 2007 | 24.1% | -19.9% |
| 2008 | 22.0% | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 19.7% | -10.4% |
| 2010 | 23.5% | +19.0% |
| 2011 | 18.8% | -19.8% |
| 2012 | 16.9% | -10.2% |
| 2013 | 13.9% | -17.5% |
| 2014 | 14.2% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 15.6% | +10.0% |
| 2016 | 15.8% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 15.8% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 14.5% | -8.1% |
| 2019 | 7.3% | -49.7% |
| 2020 | 16.0% | +119.7% |
| 2021 | 14.7% | -8.4% |
| 2022 | 12.8% | -13.1% |
| 2023 | 13.2% | +3.5% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 13.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 37.6%, 35% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 13.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 32.4%, 41% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +119.7% | 7.3% | 16.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.2% | 19.7% | 39.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 7.3% | 23.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.2% | 12.8% | 16.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More health data for Lesotho
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.05 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4669 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,227 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 382 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2020)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.8108 % 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 0.0548 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.7473 % 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 out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho?
- Out-of-pocket expenditure in Lesotho was 13.2% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest out-of-pocket expenditure recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 39.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-pocket expenditure recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 2019.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-pocket expenditure?
- Lesotho ranks 153rd out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-pocket expenditure rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Out-of-pocket 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 out-of-pocket payments of total current health expenditures. Out-of-pocket payments are spending on health directly out-of-pocket by households.