National medicines policies – a review of the evolution and development processes

Table 2 General statistics of Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

	Sri Lanka	Australia	South-Africa	former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Year of policy formulation	2006	1999	1996	2001
World Bank income level*	Lower-middle	High	Upper-middle	Upper-middle
Region	South East Asia	Western Pacific	Africa	Europe
Total population (million inhabitants)**	19.2	20.5	48.3	2.0
Gross national income per capita (PPP international $)**	3,730	33,940	8,900	7,850
Life expectancy at birth m/f (years)**	69/76	79/84	50/53	71/76
Total expenditure on health per capita (international $, 2006)**	213	3,122	869	623
Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2006)**	4.2	8.7	8.6	8.2

*Income groups are classified according to World Bank estimates of 2008 Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
**Figures are for 2006. Source: World Health Statistics 2008.
GDP gross domestic product, PPP Purchasing Power Parity, m/f male/female.

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