Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare was 8.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of current health expenditure.
Analysis
In 2023, share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea stood at 8.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.6% on the previous year and up 30.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea peaked at 12.4% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 6.0%, in 2014.
That places Papua New Guinea 174th out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of current health expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.4% | — |
| 2001 | 8.9% | -6.1% |
| 2002 | 8.7% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 8.8% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 8.5% | -3.5% |
| 2005 | 8.2% | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 7.8% | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 8.7% | +11.7% |
| 2009 | 10.4% | +19.5% |
| 2010 | 12.3% | +18.2% |
| 2011 | 12.2% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 9.2% | -24.7% |
| 2013 | 6.6% | -28.7% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | -9.4% |
| 2015 | 12.4% | +107.7% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | -18.0% |
| 2017 | 9.0% | -11.3% |
| 2018 | 9.6% | +6.7% |
| 2019 | 9.5% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 10.4% | +9.4% |
| 2021 | 10.4% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 9.3% | -10.6% |
| 2023 | 8.6% | -7.6% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 8.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 37.6%, 23% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 8.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12.2%, 70% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +107.7% | 6.0% | 12.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.7% | 7.8% | 10.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.7% | 6.0% | 12.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.6% | 8.6% | 10.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3741 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,127 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,501 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.27 % 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 0.0555 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.2621 % 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 share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare in Papua New Guinea was 8.6% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 12.4% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.0% in 2014.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 174th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, WHO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of out-of-pocket spending on healthcare. 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
Out-of-pocket spending on healthcare as percent of total current healthcare expenditure.