A turning point in health financing
For the first time in more than two decades, global health spending fell in 2022. It dropped to US$9.8 trillion, slipping below its long-term growth trajectory based on pre-pandemic trends. This reversal follows the surge in pandemic-related spending, when governments rapidly expanded health budgets. While spending remained above pre-pandemic levels, the downturn has raised concerns about the future of health financing and progress toward universal health coverage. However, this global decline is only part of the story.
Health spending is not equal across countries, and the global trend hides some important differences. While spending stayed above pre-pandemic levels in all income groups, the overall drop was driven largely by high-income countries, which account for most global health spending. By contrast, total health spending in low- and upper-middle-income countries continued to rise in 2022 (although at a slower rate), and health spending in lower-middle-income countries remains close to its long-term trend.
Whether low- and middle-income countries can maintain their levels of health spending is uncertain. Sluggish economic growth, high inflation, and rising debt burdens are squeezing government budgets. For low-income countries, the situation is especially fragile: nearly one-third of their health spending in 2022 came from external aid. But with health aid shrinking once COVID-related surge financing is excluded, and further aid cuts looming, many health systems face serious risks and experts warn of a looming health financing emergency.
Explore these trends in health financing using The ONE Data Agent.
Methodology Note
Aggregate values for global spending and by income groups are calculated by summing country-level spending for each year. Where country data is missing, values are forward filled for a maximum of two years. Aggregates are kept only where adequate coverage exists (at least 95% of countries within the group are represented). Income group classifications are based on the World Bank’s 2022 income categories, to align with the latest year of data presented.