Notes: GDP – gross domestic product; PPP – purchasing power parity; THE – total health expenditure.

Definition of Health Expenditure and Financing Variables.

Total health expenditure is the sum of public and private health expenditure. It covers the provision of health services (preventive and curative), family planning activities, nutrition activities and emergency aid designated for health but does not include provision of water and sanitation.

OOP expenditure is any direct outlay by households, including gratuities and in-kind payments, to health practitioners and suppliers of pharmaceuticals, therapeutic appliances and other goods and services whose primary intent is to contribute to the restoration or enhancement of the health status of individuals or population groups. It is a part of private health expenditure.

Private health expenditure is the share of current health expenditures funded from domestic private sources. Domestic private sources include funds from households, corporations and non-profit organisations. Such expenditures can be either prepaid to voluntary health insurance or paid directly to healthcare providers.

Public health expenditure is the share of current health expenditures funded from domestic public sources for health. Domestic public sources include domestic revenue as internal transfers and grants, transfers, subsidies to voluntary health insurance beneficiaries, non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) or enterprise financing schemes as well as compulsory prepayment and social health insurance contributions. They do not include external resources spent by governments on health.

Like GDP per capita, health expenditure figures are average spends per individual in the population and allocation to primary vs secondary care, or by age or income group are difficult to isolate.