Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 4.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone, 2000–2023
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone is 4.7%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 44.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone peaked at 15.1% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 2023.
That places Sierra Leone 132nd out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.3% | — |
| 2001 | 5.2% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 5.6% | +6.4% |
| 2003 | 5.1% | -8.9% |
| 2004 | 5.2% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 5.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 5.6% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 6.3% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 5.6% | -10.0% |
| 2011 | 6.6% | +17.1% |
| 2012 | 5.9% | -10.3% |
| 2013 | 8.5% | +42.7% |
| 2014 | 15.1% | +78.7% |
| 2015 | 12.4% | -18.1% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | -18.8% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | -40.3% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | -11.8% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | +7.7% |
| 2020 | 5.7% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 5.1% | -10.5% |
| 2022 | 4.8% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 4.7% | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.4% | 5.1% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.1% | 5.3% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.1% | 4.7% | 5.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More health data for Sierra Leone
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.34 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.773 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,199 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,209 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.8723 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1868 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.8951 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.1897 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone?
- Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone was 4.7% in 2023, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 15.1% in 2014.
- What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 2023.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
- Sierra Leone ranks 132nd out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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 Total healthcare 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
Total healthcare expenditure as the share of national gross domestic product (GDP).