Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in China

China: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 5.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
5.9%
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
107th
of 195 countries
All-time high
5.9%
in 2023
All-time low
3.6%
in 2007
Years of data
24
2000–2023

Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in China, 2000–2023

02462000201120232000: 4.5 %2001: 4.2 %2002: 4.3 %2003: 4.4 %2004: 4.2 %2005: 4.1 %2006: 3.9 %2007: 3.6 %2008: 3.8 %2009: 4.3 %2010: 4.2 %2011: 4.3 %2012: 4.5 %2013: 4.6 %2014: 4.7 %2015: 4.9 %2016: 4.9 %2017: 5 %2018: 5.1 %2019: 5.3 %2020: 5.5 %2021: 5.3 %2022: 5.9 %2023: 5.9 %

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 China stood at 5.9%. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 28.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in China peaked at 5.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2007.

That places China 107th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.1% 3.6% 4.5% 10
2010s 4.7% 4.2% 5.3% 10
2020s 5.6% 5.3% 5.9% 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 104 Morocco 6.1% compare
  2. 105 Iran 6.0% compare
  3. 106 Zambia 6.0% compare
  4. 108 Cape Verde 5.8% compare
  5. 109 Luxembourg 5.8% compare
  6. 110 Sao Tome and Principe 5.8% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in China?
Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in China was 5.9% 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 China?
The highest recorded value was 5.9% in 2023.
What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2007.
How does China rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
China ranks 107th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China 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 — 24 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).