Current health expenditure · 2023
5.9%WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · current health expenditure (% of GDP) ↗
+1.5 percentage points since 2000
Society · health financing
Health expenditure
This page asks how much a health system spends, how large that spending is relative to the economy, and who finances it. Beds, doctors and nurses remain on Healthcare resources; life expectancy and outcomes remain on Life expectancy and health.
Per-capita health spending PPP · 2023
1,487WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · per-capita health expenditure PPP ↗
current international $ · 11.4× the 2000 level
Government financing share · 2023
57.1%WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · government financing share ↗
of current health expenditure, not GDP
Out-of-pocket share · 2023
32.2%WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · out-of-pocket share ↗
28.0 percentage points below 2000
Three different questions
Financing ≠ resources ≠ health outcomes
Current health expenditure measures health goods and services consumed during the year and excludes capital health expenditure such as buildings and machinery. Higher spending does not automatically mean more capacity, greater efficiency or better health outcomes.
Health spending in the economy
China current health expenditure as a share of GDP, 2000–2023
China was at 5.94% in 2023, versus 10.06% for the World aggregate. The ratio moves with both health expenditure and GDP.
Source: WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · current health expenditure (% of GDP) ↗ · WHO GHED / WDI SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS; current expenditure excludes capital health expenditurechinainfigures.com
Per-capita purchasing-power basis
China current health expenditure per capita, PPP, 2000–2023
Current international dollars improve purchasing-power comparison across countries, but they are not a constant-price real series; the long-run rise should not be read as an identical multiple of real service volume.
Source: WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · per-capita health expenditure PPP ↗ · WHO GHED / WDI SH.XPD.CHEX.PP.CD; current international dollars, not current US$ or constant priceschinainfigures.com
Long-run international comparison
Current health expenditure as a share of GDP across major economies
The United States remains a clear high-spending outlier. China’s share rose over 2000–2023 but in 2023 remained below the World aggregate and the six major advanced economies shown here.
Source: WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · current health expenditure (% of GDP) ↗ · Eight entities; same WDI indicator, reference year and archived snapshotchinainfigures.com
Who finances health spending
China government financing and out-of-pocket shares, 2000–2023
Both lines use current health expenditure as the denominator. They are not the only two financing sources and therefore are not required to sum to 100%; other prepaid private and external financing can also exist.
Source: WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · government financing share ↗ · WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · out-of-pocket share ↗ · Government share: SH.XPD.GHED.CH.ZS; out-of-pocket: SH.XPD.OOPC.CH.ZSchinainfigures.com
International cross-section, 2023
Per-capita health expenditure PPP across major economies
This chart emphasizes purchasing-power-adjusted spending levels. The United States is far above the rest, while China is below the World aggregate. PPP is useful for comparison but does not mean residents literally paid the same number of US dollars.
Source: WHO GHED / World Bank WDI · per-capita health expenditure PPP ↗ · Same 2023 reference year; World is the WLD aggregatechinainfigures.com
Exact values, 2023
Spending levels and financing structure across major economies
| Economy | Spending/GDP | Per-capita PPP | Government share | Out-of-pocket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 16.69% | 13,473 | 53.95% | 10.93% |
| Germany | 11.74% | 8,306 | 79.12% | 11.05% |
| France | 11.52% | 6,719 | 67.71% | 9.26% |
| United Kingdom | 10.99% | 6,365 | 81.77% | 14.63% |
| Japan | 10.74% | 5,365 | 84.83% | 12.24% |
| World | 10.06% | 1,891 | 60.94% | 17.33% |
| Korea, Rep. | 8.57% | 4,798 | 58.59% | 31.75% |
| China | 5.94% | 1,487 | 57.10% | 32.17% |
China long-run milestones
Spending level and financing structure need to be read together
| Year | Spending/GDP | Per-capita PPP | Government share | Out-of-pocket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.45% | 130 | 21.98% | 60.13% |
| 2005 | 4.11% | 211 | 32.76% | 57.69% |
| 2010 | 4.16% | 384 | 51.91% | 40.80% |
| 2015 | 4.85% | 647 | 60.18% | 35.09% |
| 2020 | 5.50% | 1,002 | 54.72% | 34.79% |
| 2023 | 5.94% | 1,487 | 57.10% | 32.17% |
Not medical capacity
Higher spending does not guarantee more beds or doctors
Healthcare resources describe physical and workforce capacity. This page does not convert spending into beds, doctors or nurses.
Not healthcare quality
Spending is an input, not an efficiency or outcome score
The same spending level can reflect different prices, service volumes, demographics and institutions. Outcomes need separate measures such as life expectancy and mortality.
PPP has limits
Current international dollars help cross-country comparison, not constant-price growth analysis
The page keeps the full historical series but does not describe the 2000–2023 PPP multiple as an equal multiple of real healthcare service volume.
Downloads and revisions
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Revision and update timeline
Health expenditure indicator prepared
Prepared a common 2000–2023 WHO Global Health Expenditure Database / World Bank WDI snapshot for current health expenditure as a share of GDP, per-capita PPP expenditure, domestic general-government financing share and out-of-pocket share across China, six major economies and the World aggregate.
Related sources: World Health Organization (WHO), distributed through World Bank WDI ↗ · World Health Organization (WHO), distributed through World Bank WDI ↗ · World Health Organization (WHO), distributed through World Bank WDI ↗ · World Health Organization (WHO), distributed through World Bank WDI ↗
Sources and definitions registered; automated checks passed
Data downloads and revision timeline added
Added page-level formal-data CSV files, chart-level CSV/PNG/SVG exports and a bilingual revision timeline to all indicator pages.
Sources and definitions registered; automated checks passed