Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Zambia
Zambia: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 6.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Zambia, 2000–2023
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Zambia stood at 6.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 14.7% on the previous year and up 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Zambia peaked at 6.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2014.
Zambia ranks 106th of 195 countries on this measure, 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 Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.1% | — |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +16.0% |
| 2002 | 5.9% | +23.2% |
| 2003 | 6.0% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 5.5% | -8.8% |
| 2005 | 6.3% | +15.8% |
| 2006 | 5.6% | -11.9% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | -18.2% |
| 2008 | 4.5% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | +16.3% |
| 2010 | 4.1% | -20.9% |
| 2011 | 4.0% | -4.2% |
| 2012 | 4.0% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 4.6% | +13.1% |
| 2014 | 3.8% | -16.3% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | +15.7% |
| 2016 | 4.5% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | +7.0% |
| 2018 | 4.8% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 6.8% | +41.6% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | -6.6% |
| 2021 | 6.6% | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 5.2% | -21.5% |
| 2023 | 6.0% | +14.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.2% | 4.1% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.6% | 3.8% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.0% | 5.2% | 6.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 103 Mongolia 6.1% compare
- 104 Morocco 6.1% compare
- 105 Iran, Islamic Republic of 6.0% compare
- 107 China 5.9% compare
- 108 Cape Verde 5.8% compare
- 109 Luxembourg 5.8% compare
More health data for Zambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7971 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 1.6 % 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 0.2049 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 1.61 % 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 0.2048 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Zambia?
- Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Zambia was 6.0% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2014.
- How does Zambia rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
- Zambia ranks 106th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
- Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.
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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).