Countries in Africa Ranked by Health expenditure share of GDP (2023)

Name: Countries in Africa Ranked by Health expenditure share of GDP
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Health expenditure share of GDP: each country's latest value (2018–2023), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Liberia ranks #1 with 13% of GDP. Lesotho is second with 12.6% of GDP, 3.1% behind. The top five are Liberia, Lesotho, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Namibia. The median across all 54 is 4.52% of GDP; Djibouti is last at 2.28% of GDP. Liberia's figure has risen 383% since 2000 (2.69% of GDP to 13% of GDP in 2023).

#1: Liberia · 13% of GDP
Median: 4.52% of GDP
Coverage: 54 countries in Africa
Data year: 2023
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: Health expenditure share of GDP (% of GDP). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Liberia 13; 2. Lesotho 12.6; 3. South Sudan 11.6; 4. Central African Republic 10.7; 5. Namibia 9.48; 6. Burundi 9.09; 7. South Africa 8.91; 8. Guinea-Bissau 8.82; 9. Mozambique 8.5; 10. Tunisia 7.99.

Health expenditure share of GDP over time, top 5 (% of GDP). Liberia: 2.69 in 2000 to 13 in 2023; Lesotho: 5.16 in 2000 to 12.6 in 2023; South Sudan: 22.1 in 2017 to 11.6 in 2023; Central African Republic: 4.38 in 2000 to 10.7 in 2023; Namibia: 10 in 2000 to 9.48 in 2023.

Full ranking

Countries in Africa Ranked by Health expenditure share of GDP, 2023
Rank	Country	Health expenditure share of GDP (% of GDP)
1	Liberia	13
2	Lesotho	12.6
3	South Sudan	11.6
4	Central African Republic	10.7
5	Namibia	9.48
6	Burundi	9.09
7	South Africa	8.91
8	Guinea-Bissau	8.82
9	Mozambique	8.5
10	Tunisia	7.99
11	Libya	7.81
12	Burkina Faso	7.8
13	Eswatini	7.5
14	Comoros	6.55
15	Malawi	6.53
16	Botswana	6.26
17	Togo	6.11
18	Morocco	6.06
19	Zambia	5.98
20	Cabo Verde	5.85
21	São Tomé and Principe	5.77
22	Mauritius	5.57
23	Rwanda	5.13
24	Chad	5
25	Egypt, Arab Rep.	4.88
26	Sierra Leone	4.72
27	Cameroon	4.55
28	Seychelles	4.48
29	Kenya	4.35
30	Algeria	4.35
31	Mauritania	4.34
32	Senegal	4.32
33	Uganda	4.24
34	Nigeria	4.19
35	Niger	4.05
36	Mali	3.81
37	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	3.74
38	Guinea	3.69
39	Congo, Dem. Rep.	3.69
40	Eritrea	3.68
41	Equatorial Guinea	3.5
42	Côte d'Ivoire	3.43
43	Madagascar	3.43
44	Benin	3.34
45	Congo, Rep.	3.3
46	Gabon	3.13
47	Tanzania	3.05
48	Ghana	2.95
49	Zimbabwe	2.93
50	Gambia, The	2.89
51	Sudan	2.85
52	Ethiopia	2.8
53	Angola	2.55
54	Djibouti	2.28

About the top 10

#1 Liberia

Liberia ranks #1 on this list with 13% of GDP.

Capital: Monrovia
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 5.73 million people (2025)
GDP: US$5.25 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$915.3 (2025)
Life expectancy: 62.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 56.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Monrovia.

Also ranks #2 in forest rents share of gdp · #3 in renewable energy share · #5 in infant mortality rate.

Full country profile

#2 Lesotho

Lesotho ranks #2 on this list with 12.6% of GDP.

Capital: Maseru
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 2.36 million people (2025)
GDP: US$2.57 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,089 (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 44.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in tax revenue share of gdp · #1 in suicide mortality rate · #2 in agricultural land share.

Full country profile

#3 South Sudan

South Sudan ranks #3 on this list with 11.6% of GDP.

Capital: Juba
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 12.19 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 21.7% of population (2025)
Currency: South Sudanese pound
Official languages: English

Also ranks #1 in infant mortality rate · #4 in inflation rate · #4 in maternal mortality ratio.

Full country profile

#4 Central African Republic

Central African Republic ranks #4 on this list with 10.7% of GDP.

Capital: Bangui
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 5.51 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.07 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$556.1 (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 44.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in population ages 0-14 share · #1 in age dependency ratio · #1 in age dependency ratio (young).

Full country profile

#5 Namibia

Namibia ranks #5 on this list with 9.48% of GDP.

Capital: Windhoek
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 3.09 million people (2025)
GDP: US$15.08 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$4,876 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.5 years (2024)
Urban population: 50.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in women in ministerial positions share · #2 in tax revenue share of gdp · #4 in education expenditure share of gdp.

Full country profile

#6 Burundi

Burundi ranks #6 on this list with 9.09% of GDP.

Capital: Gitega
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.39 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$233.8 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 25.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #3 in forest rents share of gdp · #3 in real effective exchange rate index.

Full country profile

#7 South Africa

South Africa ranks #7 on this list with 8.91% of GDP.

Capital: Pretoria, Cape Town
Continent: Africa
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 64.75 million people (2025)
GDP: US$427.18 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$6,598 (2025)
Life expectancy: 66.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 63.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Johannesburg, Cape Town.

Also ranks #2 in unemployment rate · #2 in youth unemployment rate · #2 in income share of richest 10%.

Full country profile

#8 Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau ranks #8 on this list with 8.82% of GDP.

Capital: Bissau
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 2.25 million people (2025)
GDP: US$2.53 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,124 (2025)
Life expectancy: 64.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 46.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in agriculture value added share of gdp · #5 in forest rents share of gdp · #7 in low-birthweight babies share.

Full country profile

#9 Mozambique

Mozambique ranks #9 on this list with 8.5% of GDP.

Capital: Maputo
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 35.63 million people (2025)
GDP: US$22.34 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$626.9 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 37.2% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Maputo, Matola.

Also ranks #2 in poverty headcount ratio · #3 in income share of richest 10% · #4 in debt service share of exports.

Full country profile

#10 Tunisia

Tunisia ranks #10 on this list with 7.99% of GDP.

Capital: Tunis
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 12.35 million people (2025)
GDP: US$57.5 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$4,657 (2025)
Life expectancy: 76.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 70.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #9 in youth unemployment rate · #9 in gender parity index (school enrolment) · #16 in unemployment rate.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Health expenditure share of GDP: each country's latest value (2018–2023), ranked from highest to lowest.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Current health expenditure (% of GDP): Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Liberia

#2 Lesotho

#3 South Sudan

#4 Central African Republic

#5 Namibia

#6 Burundi

#7 South Africa

#8 Guinea-Bissau

#9 Mozambique

#10 Tunisia

Related rankings

Source and method