Estimated out-of-pocket medical payments in South Africa 2020 and 2021, by discipline
In 2021, the largest portion of estimated out-of-pocket payments was that of medicines dispensed, with a share of around 35.5 percent. This was only slightly lower than the 35.8 percent recorded in 2020. Following this were out-of-pocket payments to specialists, which constituted 25.92 percent in 2021 and was marginally higher than the previous year.