Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Malawi

Malawi: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 6.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
6.5%
Change on year
down 1.4%
World rank
97th
of 195 countries
All-time high
8.2%
in 2013
All-time low
2.1%
in 2001
Years of data
24
2000–2023

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

24682000201120232000: 2.4 %2001: 2.1 %2002: 2.7 %2003: 3.3 %2004: 4.1 %2005: 4.3 %2006: 4.9 %2007: 5.4 %2008: 6.1 %2009: 5.9 %2010: 5.1 %2011: 5.3 %2012: 6 %2013: 8.2 %2014: 6.9 %2015: 6.6 %2016: 7.7 %2017: 7.6 %2018: 6.9 %2019: 6.4 %2020: 7 %2021: 7.5 %2022: 6.6 %2023: 6.5 %

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 Malawi stood at 6.5%.

The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 20.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malawi peaked at 8.2% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2001.

Malawi ranks 97th of 195 countries on this measure, 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% 2.1% 6.1% 10
2010s 6.7% 5.1% 8.2% 10
2020s 6.9% 6.5% 7.5% 4

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 94 San Marino 6.6% compare
  2. 95 Ireland 6.6% compare
  3. 96 Comoros 6.6% compare
  4. 98 Hungary 6.4% compare
  5. 99 Bahamas 6.3% compare
  6. 100 Botswana 6.3% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malawi?
Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Malawi was 6.5% 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 Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 8.2% in 2013.
What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2001.
How does Malawi rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
Malawi ranks 97th out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi 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).