Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Total healthcare spending as a share of GDP was 4.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
4.7%
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
132nd
of 195 countries
All-time high
15.1%
in 2014
All-time low
4.7%
in 2023
Years of data
24
2000–2023

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

57.51012.5152000201120232000: 5.3 %2001: 5.2 %2002: 5.6 %2003: 5.1 %2004: 5.2 %2005: 5.2 %2006: 5.3 %2007: 5.3 %2008: 5.6 %2009: 6.3 %2010: 5.6 %2011: 6.6 %2012: 5.9 %2013: 8.5 %2014: 15.1 %2015: 12.4 %2016: 10.1 %2017: 6 %2018: 5.3 %2019: 5.7 %2020: 5.7 %2021: 5.1 %2022: 4.8 %2023: 4.7 %

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 Sierra Leone is 4.7%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.

The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 44.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone peaked at 15.1% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 2023.

That places Sierra Leone 132nd 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 5.4% 5.1% 6.3% 10
2010s 8.1% 5.3% 15.1% 10
2020s 5.1% 4.7% 5.7% 4

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 129 Kuwait 5.0% compare
  2. 130 Egypt 4.9% compare
  3. 131 Saint Lucia 4.7% compare
  4. 133 Grenada 4.7% compare
  5. 134 Cambodia 4.6% compare
  6. 135 Dominican Republic 4.6% compare

See the full ranking of 195 places →

More health data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone?
Total healthcare spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone was 4.7% 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 Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 15.1% in 2014.
What is the lowest total healthcare spending as a share of gdp recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 2023.
How does Sierra Leone rank for total healthcare spending as a share of gdp?
Sierra Leone ranks 132nd out of 195 countries with data for 2023.
Is total healthcare spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is down 44.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone 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.

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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).