Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Lesotho

Lesotho: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 12.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
12.6%
Change on year
down 2.2%
World rank
9th
of 195 countries
All-time high
21.9%
in 2019
All-time low
4.7%
in 2005
Years of data
24
2000–2023

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

51015202000201120232000: 5.2 %2001: 6.6 %2002: 5.9 %2003: 5.3 %2004: 5.2 %2005: 4.7 %2006: 5.4 %2007: 7.2 %2008: 7.7 %2009: 9 %2010: 7.4 %2011: 9 %2012: 10 %2013: 11 %2014: 10 %2015: 9.3 %2016: 9.2 %2017: 10.5 %2018: 11.1 %2019: 21.9 %2020: 10.4 %2021: 10.7 %2022: 12.9 %2023: 12.6 %

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 Lesotho stood at 12.6%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and up 14.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Lesotho peaked at 21.9% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 2005.

That places Lesotho 9th out of 195 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.2% 4.7% 9.0% 10
2010s 10.9% 7.4% 21.9% 10
2020s 11.6% 10.4% 12.9% 4

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 6 Marshall Islands 13.4% compare
  2. 7 Liberia 13.0% compare
  3. 8 Micronesia (country) 12.9% compare
  4. 10 Germany 11.7% compare
  5. 11 Switzerland 11.7% compare
  6. 12 South Sudan 11.6% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Lesotho?
Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Lesotho was 12.6% 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 Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 21.9% in 2019.
What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 2005.
How does Lesotho rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
Lesotho ranks 9th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lesotho 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).