Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Canada
Canada: Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required was 0.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Canada, 2003–2022
Source: Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of people at risk.
Analysis
Canada recorded 0.1% for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 50.0% on the previous year and down 66.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Canada peaked at 0.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2019.
Canada ranks 116th of 134 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Canada, year by year
| Year | % of people at risk | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 0.5% | — |
| 2004 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -25.0% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | -33.3% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.2% | -33.3% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | -50.0% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.1% | -50.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More population data for Canada
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.3281 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.13 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.3281 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.2634 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 45,891 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.7644 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.3863 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.3% (2100)
- Population density 6.1 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 2.33 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Canada?
- Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Canada was 0.1% in 2022, according to Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2019.
- How does Canada rank for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required?
- Canada ranks 116th out of 134 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Catastrophic expenditure is defined as direct out-of-pocket payments for surgical and anaesthesia care exceeding 10% of total income.