Lower middle income: Domestic general government health expenditure (% of general government expenditure)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Lower middle income's domestic general government health expenditure (% of general government expenditure) fell 0.05 percentage points on 2017 (from 4.79% to 4.75%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2017), the average change was +0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.24 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.48 percentage points in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.43 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Public expenditure on health from domestic sources as a share of total public expenditure. It indicates the priority of the government to spend on health from own domestic public resources.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 17 values

Domestic general government health expenditure (% of general government expenditure) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 1.46% (2023)
• Algeria — 6.17% (2023)
• Bahrain — 8.49% (2023)
• Djibouti — 4.89% (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 6.93% (2023)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 19.06% (2023)
• Iraq — 6.18% (2023)
• Israel

More health data for Lower middle income

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 9.84% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 10.01% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 422.4 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 29.14% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 446.49 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 29.85% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 868.89 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 29.5% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lower middle income's domestic general government health expenditure (% of general government expenditure)?

4.75% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

It is up 0.35 percentage points from 4.39% in 2002. The highest value was 5% in 2011 and the lowest 4.27% in 2004.

Is the latest change in domestic general government health expenditure (% of general government expenditure) unusual for Lower middle income?

In 2018, Lower middle income's domestic general government health expenditure (% of general government expenditure) fell 0.05 percentage points on 2017 (from 4.79% to 4.75%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2017), the average change was +0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.24 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.XPD.GHED.GE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), uri: http://apps.who.int/nha/database Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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