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

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...

Countries reporting
70
Highest
8.9%
Tunisia
Lowest
0.1%
Zambia
Median
1.6%
Years covered
39
1985–2023
Data points
1,069

What the numbers show

Proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal poverty line) due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%) is currently reported for 70 countries. The highest value is 8.9% in Tunisia; the lowest is 0.1% in Zambia.

The median across all reporting countries is 1.6%, and the mean is 2.1%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 127.

Over the past decade 39 countries rose and 31 fell. The largest increase was in Mongolia (up 475.0%), and the largest decrease in Zambia (down 88.5%).

Proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal po: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Tunisia 8.9% 2021 up 228.0% volatile
2 Egypt, Arab Republic of 6.1% 2019 up 127.9% rising
3 Nicaragua 6.0% 2014 up 96.7% volatile
4 India 5.6% 2011 up 24.2% rising
5 Armenia, Republic of 4.6% 2020 up 18.4% rising
6 Benin 4.4% 2021 up 105.6% rising
7 Georgia 4.3% 2011 up 67.6% rising
8 Tajikistan, Republic of 3.8% 2018 up 110.4% rising
9 Peru 3.7% 2022 up 103.3% rising
10 Cameroon 3.5% 2022 up 90.3% falling
11 Burkina Faso 3.2% 2021 up 218.6% rising
12 Mongolia 3.2% 2023 up 475.0% volatile
13 Nigeria 3.2% 2022 down 26.7% falling
14 Cambodia 3.2% 2023 up 1.6% falling
15 Latvia, Republic of 3.1% 2019 up 84.0% rising
16 Pakistan 3.0% 2018 down 0.7% falling
17 Togo 3.0% 2021 up 82.2% rising
18 Uganda 2.7% 2019 down 22.0% rising
19 Belarus, Republic of 2.6% 2020 up 173.4% flat
20 Nepal 2.5% 2022 down 10.7% falling
21 Côte d'Ivoire 2.4% 2021 down 25.7% falling
22 Colombia 2.3% 2021 up 24.0% falling
23 Senegal 2.2% 2021 up 71.3% rising
24 Kosovo 2.1% 2016 up 60.9% rising
25 Romania 2.1% 2016 up 26.9% rising
26 Niger 2.1% 2021 down 31.5% rising
27 Bulgaria 2.0% 2023 up 29.0% rising
28 Greece 2.0% 2023 up 7.1% falling
29 Hungary 1.9% 2007 up 95.0% rising
30 Mali 1.9% 2022 up 56.6% rising
30 Lithuania, Republic of 1.9% 2021 down 5.9% rising
32 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1.9% 2022 up 1.1% falling
33 Israel 1.8% 2021 up 16.7% falling
34 Chile 1.7% 2021 up 48.7% rising
35 Serbia, Republic of 1.6% 2022 up 114.3% rising
36 Vietnam 1.6% 2020 down 45.2% falling
37 Poland, Republic of 1.6% 2019 down 23.0% falling
38 Albania 1.6% 2017 down 30.7% falling
39 Portugal 1.5% 2022 down 38.0% rising
40 Russian Federation 1.5% 2014 up 114.7% rising
41 Sri Lanka 1.4% 2016 down 7.8% falling
42 North Macedonia, Republic of 1.4% 2020 up 35.6% rising
43 Philippines 1.4% 2015 up 57.3% rising
44 Ukraine 1.3% 2019 down 2.9% falling
45 Spain 1.3% 2023 up 52.4% rising
46 Moldova, Republic of 1.3% 2023 down 52.3% falling
47 Montenegro 1.1% 2015 down 41.6% rising
48 Switzerland 1.1% 2017 down 24.5% falling
49 Kazakhstan, Republic of 1.1% 2018 down 1.9% rising
50 Mexico 1.0% 2022 up 103.9% falling
51 Estonia, Republic of 1.0% 2011 down 17.2% rising
52 Croatia, Republic of 0.9% 2010 up 74.1% rising
53 Luxembourg 0.9% 2023 down 14.0% rising
54 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.9% 2022 down 32.1% falling
55 Ethiopia, The Federal Democratic Republic of 0.9% 2021 up 45.2% rising
56 Malawi 0.9% 2019 up 47.5% rising
57 Jamaica 0.9% 2021 down 6.5% falling
58 Slovak Republic 0.8% 2022 down 5.6% flat
59 Kyrgyz Republic 0.8% 2022 up 75.6% falling
60 Bolivia 0.8% 2021 down 38.2% falling
61 El Salvador 0.7% 2019 up 131.2% rising
62 Indonesia 0.7% 2023 down 32.0% falling
63 Türkiye, Republic of 0.6% 2016 down 36.6% falling
64 United States 0.6% 2023 down 11.3% falling
65 Slovenia, Republic of 0.5% 2022 up 17.5% falling
66 Ghana 0.4% 2016 down 55.8% volatile
67 South Africa 0.3% 2014 down 52.3% falling
68 Bhutan 0.3% 2022 down 53.2% falling
69 United Kingdom 0.3% 2021 down 17.6% rising
70 Zambia 0.1% 2015 down 88.5% volatile

Regions and income groups

Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.

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Proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal po by country. Statizoid, drawing on Universal Health Coverage Dataset, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/proportion-of-population-pushed-into-poverty-based-on-the-societal-poverty-line-due-to/

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About this data

Indicator
Proportion of population pushed into poverty (based on the societal poverty line) due to out-of-pocket health expenditure (%)
Unit
%
Source
Universal Health Coverage Dataset, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
82 places, 1,069 data points, 1985–2023
Last refreshed

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).