Government health spending as a share of GDP in South Africa
South Africa: Government health spending as a share of GDP was 4.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government health spending as a share of GDP in South Africa, 2000–2023
Source: OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 4.1% for government health spending as a share of gdp in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government health spending as a share of gdp in South Africa peaked at 4.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 2002.
South Africa ranks 50th of 59 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Government health spending as a share of GDP in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.7% | — |
| 2001 | 2.4% | -10.5% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | +21.0% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 2.9% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 3.4% | +12.8% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 3.7% | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 3.7% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 3.8% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 3.8% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 3.7% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 3.8% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 3.9% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 4.4% | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.8% | 2.3% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 3.6% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.1% | 4.0% | 4.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,152 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 3,333 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 65-69, male, annual growth rate 2.84 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, per capita 0.0116 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, annual growth rate 4.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, per capita 0.0115 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government health spending as a share of gdp in South Africa?
- Government health spending as a share of gdp in South Africa was 4.1% in 2023, according to OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government health spending as a share of gdp recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest government health spending as a share of gdp recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 2002.
- How does South Africa rank for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- South Africa ranks 50th out of 59 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government health spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government health spending as a share of GDP. 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
Public health expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.