Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 15.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
15.0%
Change on year
down 35.1%
World rank
5th
of 195 countries
All-time high
23.1%
in 2022
All-time low
7.9%
in 2012
Years of data
22
2002–2023

Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Afghanistan, 2002–2023

101520252002201220232002: 9.4 %2003: 8.9 %2004: 9.8 %2005: 9.9 %2006: 10.6 %2007: 9.9 %2008: 10.3 %2009: 9.8 %2010: 8.6 %2011: 8.6 %2012: 7.9 %2013: 8.8 %2014: 9.5 %2015: 10.1 %2016: 11.8 %2017: 12.6 %2018: 14.2 %2019: 14.8 %2020: 15.5 %2021: 21.5 %2022: 23.1 %2023: 15 %

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 Afghanistan is 15.0%, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 35.1% on the previous year and up 70.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Afghanistan peaked at 23.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2012.

That places Afghanistan 5th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 9.8% 8.9% 10.6% 8
2010s 10.7% 7.9% 14.8% 10
2020s 18.8% 15.0% 23.1% 4

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 2 Nauru 18.2% compare
  2. 3 United States 16.7% compare
  3. 4 Niue 16.1% compare
  4. 6 Marshall Islands 13.4% compare
  5. 7 Liberia 13.0% compare
  6. 8 Micronesia (country) 12.9% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Afghanistan?
Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Afghanistan was 15.0% 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 Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 23.1% in 2022.
What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2012.
How does Afghanistan rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
Afghanistan ranks 5th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 70.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Afghanistan 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 — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP
Unit
%
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
195 places, 4,588 data points, 2000–2023
Last refreshed

Total healthcare expenditure as the share of national gross domestic product (GDP).