Proportion of population further impoverished due to out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%) by country

Proportion of population living in households already in societal poverty (household total budget lies below the societal poverty line) that incur any out-of-pocket health expenditure. The household discretionary budget is defined as the total household budget, measured by consumption expenditure or income, minus...

Countries reporting
69
Highest
41.1%
Malawi
Lowest
2.2%
Lithuania
Median
10.3%
Years covered
39
1985–2023
Data points
1,069

What the numbers show

Proportion of population further impoverished due to out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%) is currently reported for 69 countries. The highest value is 41.1% in Malawi; the lowest is 2.2% in Lithuania.

The median across all reporting countries is 10.3%, and the mean is 14.5%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 19.

Over the past decade 21 countries rose and 48 fell. The largest increase was in Bhutan (up 182.3%), and the largest decrease in Colombia (down 72.0%).

Proportion of population further impoverished due to out-of-pocket hea: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Malawi 41.1% 2019 up 10.9% falling
2 Nigeria 39.0% 2022 up 16.7% rising
3 Mali 35.0% 2022 down 24.1% falling
4 Niger 33.6% 2021 down 30.3% falling
5 Philippines 30.9% 2015 down 10.2% flat
6 Burkina Faso 30.3% 2021 down 42.3% rising
7 India 29.2% 2011 down 8.3% falling
8 Cameroon 29.0% 2022 down 16.7% falling
9 Uganda 28.7% 2019 down 19.4% falling
10 Pakistan 25.4% 2018 down 24.1% falling
11 Tajikistan 24.7% 2018 up 113.0% rising
12 Indonesia 24.5% 2023 down 15.7% falling
13 Benin 24.5% 2021 down 49.6% falling
14 Senegal 24.5% 2021 down 39.9% falling
15 Togo 23.2% 2021 down 38.8% falling
16 Ethiopia 22.3% 2021 down 27.1% falling
17 Cote d'Ivoire 21.7% 2021 down 7.8% rising
18 South Africa 20.2% 2014 down 33.3% falling
19 Ghana 20.0% 2016 down 49.5% falling
20 Peru 19.8% 2022 up 5.6% falling
21 Georgia 19.2% 2011 down 12.7% falling
22 Mongolia 18.6% 2023 up 30.5% rising
23 Jamaica 18.5% 2021 down 1.2% rising
24 Nicaragua 18.2% 2014 down 32.9% falling
25 Vietnam 17.8% 2020 down 21.9% falling
26 Nepal 16.0% 2022 down 29.0% falling
27 Egypt 14.9% 2019 down 15.9% falling
28 Zambia 13.9% 2015 down 44.0% falling
29 Mexico 12.6% 2022 up 21.0% falling
30 Luxembourg 11.7% 2023 down 7.9% rising
31 Greece 11.4% 2023 up 78.9% rising
32 Cambodia 10.9% 2023 up 16.3% falling
33 Russia 10.8% 2014 down 45.2% falling
34 Turkey 10.8% 2016 up 5.5% rising
35 Hungary 10.3% 2007 up 105.8% rising
36 Bolivia 10.3% 2021 down 28.3% rising
37 Israel 10.0% 2021 down 27.8% falling
38 Portugal 10.0% 2022 up 13.9% rising
39 Sri Lanka 9.9% 2016 down 38.1% falling
40 Chile 9.7% 2021 down 5.0% falling
41 Tunisia 9.4% 2021 down 38.3% falling
42 Iran 9.4% 2022 down 5.2% falling
43 Albania 9.3% 2017 down 6.6% falling
44 Ukraine 8.8% 2019 down 1.7% falling
45 Bhutan 8.3% 2022 up 182.3% rising
46 El Salvador 8.1% 2019 up 169.3% rising
47 Spain 7.9% 2023 up 9.6% rising
48 Romania 7.6% 2016 up 38.2% flat
49 Slovakia 7.3% 2022 up 47.8% falling
50 Latvia 7.1% 2019 up 22.8% falling
51 Poland 7.0% 2019 down 23.0% falling
52 Montenegro 6.8% 2015 down 12.7% flat
53 Serbia 6.8% 2022 down 9.0% flat
54 Bulgaria 6.7% 2023 down 34.4% falling
55 Kyrgyzstan 6.5% 2022 up 21.8% falling
56 Armenia 6.5% 2020 down 31.0% rising
57 Switzerland 6.2% 2017 up 1.6% flat
58 North Macedonia 6.2% 2020 down 14.7% falling
59 Kazakhstan 6.0% 2018 down 40.3% volatile
60 United Kingdom 5.9% 2021 up 16.2% rising
61 Croatia 5.9% 2010 down 25.1% rising
62 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.3% 2022 down 27.2% falling
63 Belarus 5.2% 2020 down 54.9% falling
64 Estonia 4.8% 2011 down 28.5% falling
65 United States 4.8% 2023 down 23.8% falling
66 Moldova 4.0% 2023 down 43.8% falling
67 Colombia 4.0% 2021 down 72.0% falling
68 Slovenia 3.9% 2022 up 32.1% falling
69 Lithuania 2.2% 2021 down 60.7% 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 further impoverished due to out-of-pocket health expenditure, based on the societal poverty line (%)
Unit
%
Source
Universal Health Coverage Dataset, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
82 places, 1,069 data points, 1985–2023
Last refreshed

Proportion of population living in households already in societal poverty (household total budget lies below the societal poverty line) that incur any out-of-pocket health expenditure. The household 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).