Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa
South Africa: Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care was 32.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa, 2005–2022
Source: Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), Harvard Medical School. Measured in % of people at risk.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 32.1% for risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa peaked at 37.6% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 24.8%, in 2018.
That places South Africa 46th out of 134 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of people at risk | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 37.6% | — |
| 2006 | 36.7% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 33.2% | -9.5% |
| 2009 | 28.5% | -14.2% |
| 2010 | 32.6% | +14.4% |
| 2011 | 32.1% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 31.8% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 31.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 32.4% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 32.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 25.3% | -21.9% |
| 2017 | 25.1% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 24.8% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 34.3% | +38.3% |
| 2020 | 33.1% | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 32.3% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 32.1% | -0.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 32.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10.0%, 3.2× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 32.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 70.3%, 46% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +38.3% | 24.8% | 34.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 34.0% | 28.5% | 37.6% | 4 |
| 2010s | 30.3% | 24.8% | 34.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.5% | 32.1% | 33.1% | 3 |
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)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5504 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.045 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.0003 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa?
- Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care in South Africa was 32.1% in 2022, according to Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), Harvard Medical School.
- What is the highest risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 37.6% in 2005.
- What is the lowest risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.8% in 2018.
- How does South Africa rank for risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care?
- South Africa ranks 46th out of 134 countries with data for 2022.
- Is risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), Harvard Medical School, published as part of Risk of impoverishing expenditure for surgical care (% of people at risk). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The proportion of population at risk of impoverishing expenditure when surgical care is required. Impoverishing expenditure is defined as direct out of pocket payments for surgical and anaesthesia care which drive people below a poverty threshold (using a threshold of $2.15 PPP/day).