Which Countries Have The Worst Healthcare?

The standard of healthcare worldwide is improving rapidly. New innovations, including artificial intelligence, personalised medicine and digital twins are propelling the world into a new era for healthcare.

According to data from PwC and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there are many reasons to be optimistic about healthcare. Despite acute shortages in some countries, the global healthcare workforce is growing, with over 10.5% of people in developed countries now employed in the health and social care sector. Healthcare spending has relaxed since the COVID-19 pandemic, but remains higher than it was in 2019 at an average 8.8% of GDP. And there have been numerous breakthroughs in the world of pharmaceuticals, from GLP-1 drugs to manage obesity, to gene editing treatment for complex diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Global life expectancy has reached an all-time high of 73.4 years, up from 73.1 in 2023.

However, not all countries are performing this well. Even many economically advanced countries continue to experience shortfalls in several key areas for healthcare. In this article, we look at developed nations in the OECD to identify which ones rank lowest for several key healthcare metrics, from the number of staff they employ to the overall standard of their infrastructure.

Let’s explore which countries rank the worst for healthcare*.

How have we decided our rankings?

In drawing up these lists, we have focused specifically on countries in the OECD. These include the 38 most economically advanced countries in the world, plus a number of other non-affiliated developed and developing nations. We have used a variety of data from the latest reports from the OECD databank.

Which country has the fewest hospitals per person?

One way to determine the strength of a country’s healthcare infrastructure is to look at the number of hospitals that country has as a ratio to the population. A greater number of hospitals in one country suggests a more diverse and specialised healthcare offering, with shorter waiting times and more hospital beds.

Costa Rica

Hospitals per million population: 8.06

At the other end of the list, it is Costa Rica that takes the unfortunate title of having the fewest hospitals per capita. Despite being one of the cheapest countries to move to and a favourite among digital nomads, the Central American nation maintains its position as the worst country for the number of hospitals.

Shockingly, the ratio of hospitals per person in Costa Rica has actually declined in recent years, falling from 9.01 per million in 2014 to 8.06.

Here is our list of the top 10 worst countries for number of hospitals per capita:

Countries with the most hospitals per person

Using a combination of the most recent data from the OECD, in 2021 and 2022, the country with the most hospitals in the world is South Korea, with 81.01 hospitals per one million of the population. This is followed by Japan, with 65.38 hospitals per million people, and Bulgaria with 49.58.

Congratulations also to Poland, which has added 168 new hospitals since 2016 to make it into the top 10 countries for number of hospitals.

Which country has the fewest hospital beds per person?

Another way to rank a country’s healthcare infrastructure is to look at the number of hospital beds available per 1,000 of the population.

In theory, one hospital bed equates to one patient being treated – therefore, the greater the number of beds, the more people can receive treatment at any given time, leading to shorter waiting times. This data should be considered alongside the total number of hospitals, as countries with larger hospitals may have more beds for fewer hospitals.

India

Hospital beds per 1,000 population: 0.52

Meanwhile, India takes the unfortunate title for the worst country in the world for numbers of hospital beds. With just 0.52 beds available per 1,000 people, it’s easy to see why India’s healthcare system is often found struggling – and why we recommend any expats or digital nomads moving to India should take out comprehensive health insurance offering access to private medical care.

It is worth pointing out that India stopped providing data to the OECD in 2017, therefore these statistics use the latest available data and may be different – but it is still plain to see that India sits far behind other countries in terms of hospital beds, with second-placed Mexico offering nearly twice as many beds per 1,000 people.

Here are the 10 worst countries for ratios of hospital beds:

Countries with the most hospital beds per person

Elsewhere, the standards of healthcare are noticeably improving as many countries continue to add new hospital beds year on year.

In 2019, South Korea overtook Japan for the number one spot and the two Asian countries now compete fiercely to have the most number of hospital beds per 1,000 people – both have a considerably greater number than any other country in the world and set the gold standard for healthcare standards.

The country with the greatest number of hospital beds is once again South Korea with 12.77 beds per 1,000 people, with Japan and Bulgaria coming second and third once again with 12.62 and 7.92 beds respectively.

Here are the 10 best countries for hospital beds:

Which countries have the fewest medical professionals?

Another way to consider the strength of a country’s healthcare system is to look at the number of people employed in the medical sector. This includes the number of doctors, nurses, dentists and midwives throughout a country. It may also include people who work in other parts of the healthcare sector, such as medical researchers, hospital administrators and clinicians.

In this section, we’ve looked specifically at medical professionals who work in the state healthcare sector as a ratio to the general population, as a measure of how robust a country’s healthcare system is. It’s good news for Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Ireland, who top the leaderboards in four separate categories – but which countries are struggling to hire an adequate number of medical staff? Let’s take a look.

Countries with the fewest physicians

Indonesia

Physicians per 1,000 population: 0.7

Indonesia takes the unenviable title for having the lowest number of physicians per 1,000 people. With just 0.7 doctors per 1,000 people, it’s no wonder Indonesia’s healthcare system is constantly under pressure – and it’s for this reason we recommend expats living in Indonesia take out private medical insurance.

Interestingly, despite their high standing in other areas, South Korea and Japan also fall below the worldwide average, along with the USA, UK and Canada. These nations have taken steps in recent years to mitigate this decline by introducing incentives to foreign doctors hoping to move to their country and by increasing the number of places available on medical degrees.

Here are the 10 countries with the fewest physicians:

Countries with the highest number of physicians

These countries, meanwhile, are not struggling to recruit and retain their doctors, providing an ample number of medical professionals throughout the country. Indeed, while many of these countries are much smaller than their comparable nations, they still manage to provide a competitive number of physicians overall, with Austria being the stand-out example.

Here are the 10 countries with the most physicians:

Countries with the fewest nurses

Also of immense importance are the number of nurses a country employs. Nurses are often considered the backbone of healthcare systems, supporting doctors, caring for patients, and making the whole system work. A higher number of nurses translates into a greater quality of care for patients, and a more efficient system overall. Let’s look at the data.

South Africa

Nurses per 1,000 population: 1.03

Unfortunately, it is South Africa that comes out bottom, providing just 1.03 nurses per 1,000 people. Compared to first-placed Switzerland, nurses in South Africa have a workload some 18 times more strenuous.

Here are the 10 countries with the fewest nurses:

Countries with the most nurses

Switzerland

Nurses per 1,000 population: 18.39

As mentioned, Switzerland tops the leaderboard, followed very closely by Norway. These two countries have a sizable lead when it comes to the number of nurses per 1,000 people. Smaller countries tend to dominate this leaderboard, which makes Australia and Germany’s inclusions all the more impressive.

Here are the 10 best countries for nurse to patient ratio:

Countries with the fewest dentists

Dentistry is a specialised medical field, so it’s an important one to consider when comparing countries’ healthcare provisions. Because dentistry is often provided by the private sector, these statistics may reflect a shortfall in countries that employ fewer dentists in the public healthcare system – but even so, the figures reveal how healthcare budgets differ around the world.

Mexico

Dentists per 1,000 population: 0.12

Despite Mexico being widely known as a destination for medical tourism (including for dentistry), it employs the fewest number of dentists per 1,000 people in the world. Mexico is joined by several wealthy nations, including Switzerland, the UK and South Korea, showing that dentistry can be difficult to manage even in highly developed countries.

These 10 countries had the fewest dentists:

Countries with the most dentists

Bulgaria

Dentists per 1,000 population: 1.1
While Bulgaria takes the number one spot for having the highest number of dentists per capita, it should be noted how close these tables are – with just 1.1 dentists per 1,000 people, Bulgaria still employs a relatively low number of dentists overall. The gap between 10th best and 10th worst is just 0.19 dentists per 1,000 people!

These 10 countries had the most dentists:

Countries with the fewest midwives

Midwives provide a crucial role in healthcare infrastructure by providing safe deliveries of newborn children. This is especially crucial in developing countries, where infant mortality rates tend to be higher. It’s therefore important for a country to be well-stocked with trained midwives, ensuring that all deliveries can be safely completed.

A higher rate of midwives in one country indicates that mothers and their babies are more likely to receive the specialist care, attention and support they need.

Slovenia

Midwives per 1,000 population: 0.16

Slovenia still has a long way to go to get up to international midwifery standards, providing a worryingly low number of midwives per capita. Romania is also threatened with being labelled the worst country in the world for numbers of midwives. Perhaps Japan’s low birthrate can explain its surprise inclusion in this list of the bottom 10?

Here are the countries with the fewest midwives:

Countries with the most midwives

Ireland

Midwives per 1,000 population: 0.83

Ireland jumped to the top of the list for the most midwives, overtaking Australia – which has seen a decrease in recent years. The falling rate of new midwives appearing in developed nations may suggest an imminent problem looming in many countries, but for now these countries can congratulate themselves for keeping their hospitals well stocked with maternity professionals.

These countries had the most midwives:

Which governments spend the least on healthcare?

One of the biggest factors in deciding which countries are the best and worst for healthcare is the level of government spending. This is calculated as a percentage of the total GDP.

More spending means not only better services in the short term, but also greater opportunity for investment in the long term, meaning an improvement in overall quality in the future. On the other hand, countries with highly-developed healthcare systems may not need to spend as much if they intend to save money to spend in other sectors.

India

Government spending as a share of GDP: 1.1%

India lags far behind the rest of the world when it comes to healthcare spending, at just 1.1% of GDP (it is worth mentioning that India has stopped recording data with the OECD). As the largest nation on earth, this amount of spending is still considerable, but considering India’s healthcare system is responsible for over 1.4 billion people, it seems worrying that the country is spending so little.

Here are the 10 governments spending the least on healthcare:

Which governments spend the most on healthcare?

USA

Government spending as a share of GDP: 14.1%

Meanwhile, the United States dominates the list for the highest spending on healthcare. As a technologically advanced nation with a robust pharmaceutical and medtech sector, America’s substantial spending on healthcare could be seen as both a public service and an investment in its future – either way, it sets the standard fellow G7 countries Germany, France, Japan and the UK are trying to follow.

These 10 governments spend the most on healthcare:

Which countries have the lowest number of MRI scanners?

A final metric we might consider are the number of MRI scanners available throughout a country. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners are among the most sophisticated – and indeed expensive – pieces of medical equipment available, and are essential in the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases.

Colombia

MRI scanners per 1 million population: 0.24

With fewer than one MRI scanner per 4 million people, Colombia is far and away the worst country in the world for anyone requiring an MRI scan. In second place, Mexico does not fare much better. Even wealthy nations such as the UK and Canada are included in this list, showing that many countries could benefit from investing in more MRI machines.

Here are the countries with the fewest MRI scanners:

Which countries have the highest number of MRI scanners?

Japan

MRI scanners per 1 million population: 57.39

The difference between top and bottom looks particularly stark when we discover that Japan offers more than 57 MRI scanners per 1 million people. That puts it comfortably at the top of this list, and perhaps even makes it a destination for people seeking high-quality MRI diagnostics.

These countries have the most MRI scanners per 1 million people:

Wherever you move, go with total peace of mind

At William Russell, we have over 30 years of helping expatriates finding best places in the world to move abroad and settle into their new lives overseas by providing world-class international health insurance. Plus, we produce lots of expert material to help you and your family adapt to life abroad. Check out our list of countries with the best healthcare in the world.

Making the move to another country can be challenging. But no matter where you go, you can take one thing off your mind. William Russell offers international health insurance that covers you for everything from minor injuries to long hospital stays, and we can even offer medical evacuations to patients who require treatment in other countries, where it’s not available locally.

We have used a variety of metrics to assess the levels of healthcare provision in different countries around the world. To do this, we used data from the OECD to compare countries based on a range of different factors which indicate just how good each country’s healthcare system is for locals and expats alike.

*The data we used was the most recent available for each country, which for the majority of the data was 2024, the last year for a comprehensive dataset was created. We have occasionally supplemented our reports with data with previous years where a more recent recording or estimate was not taken. The exact figures may be different.