World: Proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal poverty line) due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, World's proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal poverty line) due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) fell 0.32 percentage points on 2021 (from 2.2% to 1.88%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2021), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.38 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.32 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.06 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 80% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 1.9% for 2025. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2020 to 2022 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.11%, against 0.16% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

What this measures

Proportion of population living in households with positive discretionary budgets that spend all their discretionary budget on out-of-pocket health expenditure. The household discretionary budget is defined as the total household budget, measured by consumption expenditure or income, minus the societal poverty line (SPL). Using 2017 purchasing power parities (PPPs), the SPL corresponds to whichever is greater: $2.15 (the international poverty line) or $1.15 + 50% of median household consumption expenditure or income, excluding out-of-pocket household expenditure on health. Out-of-pocket health expenditure is defined as any spending incurred by a household when any member uses a health good or service to receive any type of care (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, long-term or palliative care); provided by any type of provider; for any type of disease, illness or health condition; in any type of setting (outpatient, inpatient, at home).

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

All 23 values

Proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal poverty line) due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) in nearby economies

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 1.85% (2022)
• Israel — 1.75% (2021)

More health data for World

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 7.67% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 7.97% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 974.32 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 23.85% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 1.03 billion (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 24.97% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 2.01 billion (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 24.41% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 8.04% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is World's proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal poverty line) due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%)?

1.88% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH_UHC_FH40_PUSHED, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Universal Health Coverage Dataset, World Health Organization (WHO); World Bank (WB), note: Universal Health Coverage Dataset 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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