Proportion of population facing financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) by country

Proportion of population spending more than 40% of household discretionary budget on out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) The discretionary budget is defined as the total household budget, measured by consumption expenditure or income, minus the societal poverty line (SPL ). Using 2017 purchasing power parities...

Countries reporting
78
Highest
47.4%
Nigeria
Lowest
5.6%
Andorra
Median
16.8%
Years covered
40
1985–2024
Data points
1,168

What the numbers show

Proportion of population facing financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) is currently reported for 78 countries. The highest value is 47.4% in Nigeria; the lowest is 5.6% in Andorra.

The median across all reporting countries is 16.8%, and the mean is 20.5%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 8.

Over the past decade 33 countries rose and 44 fell. The largest increase was in El Salvador (up 146.1%), and the largest decrease in Ghana (down 50.0%).

Proportion of population facing financial hardship due to out-of-pocke: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Nigeria 47.4% 2022 up 8.7% rising
2 Malawi 43.0% 2019 up 12.2% falling
3 Bangladesh 41.7% 2022 up 40.4% rising
4 Mali 40.1% 2022 down 19.2% falling
5 Cameroon 38.8% 2022 down 4.1% falling
6 Burkina Faso 38.6% 2021 down 30.2% rising
7 Niger 38.6% 2021 down 29.1% falling
8 Tanzania 37.5% 2020 up 78.0% falling
9 Egypt 36.9% 2019 up 36.2% rising
10 Uganda 36.1% 2019 down 19.8% falling
11 Benin 35.6% 2021 down 33.9% falling
12 Nicaragua 34.7% 2014 down 3.4% rising
13 Pakistan 33.9% 2018 down 17.9% falling
14 Togo 31.3% 2021 down 24.2% falling
15 Tunisia 31.2% 2021 up 27.5% rising
16 Philippines 31.0% 2023 down 15.9% falling
17 India 30.9% 2022 down 27.7% falling
18 Senegal 30.9% 2021 down 30.8% falling
19 Tajikistan 30.8% 2019 up 28.7% rising
20 Mongolia 29.0% 2023 up 80.3% rising
21 Cote d'Ivoire 28.9% 2021 down 9.2% flat
22 Peru 28.5% 2022 up 17.5% falling
23 Georgia 27.9% 2024 down 12.1% rising
24 Indonesia 26.6% 2023 down 18.7% falling
25 Nepal 24.9% 2022 down 18.3% falling
26 Ethiopia 24.2% 2021 down 24.5% falling
27 Vietnam 23.6% 2020 down 26.5% falling
28 Armenia 23.5% 2020 up 7.3% rising
29 Palestine 22.3% 2023 up 39.4% rising
30 Cambodia 22.1% 2023 up 13.4% falling
31 Jamaica 21.5% 2021 up 1.3% falling
32 Ghana 21.1% 2016 down 50.0% falling
32 South Africa 21.1% 2014 down 34.2% falling
34 Paraguay 21.1% 2023 up 3.1% falling
35 Greece 18.9% 2023 up 35.2% flat
36 Bulgaria 18.8% 2023 up 5.7% rising
37 Latvia 18.6% 2019 up 38.1% rising
38 Chile 17.4% 2021 up 17.3% flat
39 Hungary 17.1% 2007 up 93.5% rising
40 Israel 16.6% 2021 down 11.9% flat
41 Mexico 15.9% 2022 up 33.5% falling
42 Iran 15.7% 2022 down 5.2% falling
43 Romania 15.6% 2016 up 29.4% rising
44 Russia 15.4% 2014 down 29.3% falling
45 Albania 14.8% 2017 down 22.0% falling
46 Ukraine 14.6% 2019 up 0.8% falling
47 Portugal 14.6% 2022 down 14.7% rising
48 Luxembourg 14.1% 2023 down 9.4% rising
49 Poland 14.1% 2019 down 15.5% falling
50 Zambia 14.1% 2015 down 46.1% falling
51 Bolivia 13.4% 2021 down 32.8% rising
52 Turkey 12.7% 2016 down 2.0% rising
53 Spain 12.7% 2023 up 19.6% rising
54 Mauritius 12.6% 2023 up 3.5% rising
55 Colombia 12.5% 2021 down 39.0% falling
56 Belarus 12.2% 2020 down 19.2% falling
57 Montenegro 12.1% 2015 down 11.4% rising
58 Thailand 11.9% 2017 down 32.2% falling
59 Sri Lanka 11.3% 2019 down 35.1% falling
60 Serbia 11.0% 2022 up 2.0% flat
61 Japan 10.9% 2024 up 13.5% rising
62 Lithuania 10.6% 2021 down 13.3% falling
63 El Salvador 10.5% 2019 up 146.1% rising
64 Switzerland 10.3% 2017 down 8.8% flat
65 Czechia 10.0% 2023 up 56.7% rising
66 North Macedonia 10.0% 2024 down 11.0% falling
66 Slovakia 10.0% 2022 up 18.2% falling
68 Moldova 9.8% 2023 down 44.3% flat
69 Kazakhstan 9.8% 2018 down 26.4% falling
70 Kyrgyzstan 9.6% 2022 up 37.3% falling
71 Bhutan 9.0% 2022 up 68.5% falling
72 Estonia 8.9% 2011 down 15.6% falling
73 Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.6% 2022 down 30.0% falling
74 Croatia 8.4% 2010 down 9.3% rising
75 United Kingdom 7.5% 2021 up 18.9% rising
76 United States 6.8% 2023 down 20.4% falling
77 Slovenia 6.0% 2022 up 27.1% falling
78 Andorra 5.6% 2023 falling

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

About this data

Indicator
Proportion of population facing financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%)
Unit
%
Source
Universal Health Coverage Dataset, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
91 places, 1,168 data points, 1985–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of population spending more than 40% of household discretionary budget on out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) The discretionary budget is defined as the total household budget, measured by consumption expenditure or income, minus the societal poverty line (SPL ). Using 2017 purchasing power parities (PPPs), the SPL corresponds to whichever is greater: $2.15 (the international poverty line) or $1.15 + 50% of median household consumption expenditure or income, excluding out-of-pocket household expenditure on health. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).