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Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births), 2023: 4
Under-five mortality rate (per 1000 live births), 2023: 2.8
Neonatal mortality rate (per 1000 live births), 2023: 1.2
Tuberculosis incidence (per 100,000 population), 2023: 38
Probability of dying from any of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease between age 30 and exact age 70 (%), 2021: 6.9%
Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population), 2021: 27.5
Adolescent birth rate (per 1000 women aged 15-19 years), 2015-2024: 0.4
Adolescent birth rate (per 1000 women aged 10-14 years), 2015-2024: 0.0
Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) immunization coverage among 1-year-olds (%), 2023: 98%
Measles-containing-vaccine second-dose (MCV2) immunization coverage by the locally recommended age (%), 2023: 96%
Pneumococcal conjugate 3rd dose (PCV3) immunization coverage among 1-year olds (%), 2023: 97%
Human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization coverage estimates among 15 year-old girls (%), 2023: 65%
Prevalence of stunting in children under 5 (%), 2024: 1.8%
Prevalence of wasting in children under 5 (%), 2015-2024: 0.2%
Prevalence of overweight in children under 5 (%), 2024: 5.5%
Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15-49 years (%), 2023: 15.7%

Source: World health statistics 2025: monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Tables of health statistics by country and area, WHO region and globally. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

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Population aged 15 years and over rating their own health as bad or very bad, 2021: 13.8%
Life expectancy at birth, 2021: 83.6
Infant mortality, deaths per 1,000 live births, 2021: 2.4
Maternal mortality rate, deaths per 100,000 live births, 2020: 8.1
Congestive heart failure hospital admission in adults, age-sex standardized rate per 100,000 population, 2019: 95
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospital admissions in adults, age-sex standardized rate per 100,000 population, 2019: 230

Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.

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“One of major indicators of preventive care quality is child immunization. According to a national survey in 2012, the rate of full completion of essential child vaccinations (BCG, hepatitis B, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, polio, MMR, varicella, and Japanese encephalitis) for 1-yearolds is 97.3%, and for 3-year-olds is 80.5% (Lee et al., 2013). Even though the vaccination rates in absolute terms are relatively high, it was assessed that full completion rates have room for improvement.”

Source: World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (‎2015)‎. Republic of Korea health system review. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

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“School health and occupational health services are not included in the general public health system. Only informal partnership is available between these separate services. The school health system, under the control of the Ministry of Education, encompasses the provision of basic health-care, screening and prevention, health promotion, and management of school meals and hygiene. One of the characteristics of the school health system has been a strong focus on health screening and examination. In 2005, the School Health Act was revised to specify a health screening system, and schools are required to document and report the results. The current health examination system includes assessment of physical development, health survey, health examination, and assessment of physical capability (Shin, 2013). The revised 2005 School Health Act also requires oral health examination for elementary students, a mental health programme, and education on health-related behaviours.

“In terms of occupational disease burden, work-related musculoskeletal disorders have recently become prominent while traditional diseases such as chemical intoxication, noise-induced hearing loss, and pneumoconiosis declined steeply to the mid-1990s (Kim, 2008). The Industrial Safety and Health Act mandates employers’ responsibility in providing occupational health services including periodic occupational health examinations, control of the workplace environment and healthcare services. These health services are mainly provided by private practitioners, mostly independent from employers. Regular medical examinations should be provided at the employers’ expense for workers potentially exposed to listed work hazards.”

Source: World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (‎2015)‎. Republic of Korea health system review. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

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“Public providers of public health services include public health centres (district/county), subcentres (subcounty), and posts (village). Most public health centres provide preventive and promotive services including immunization, management of tuberculosis, maternal and child health, screening and health checks, health education, and surveillance of communicable diseases. Health visit programmes and community-based activities are also organized and implemented by public health centres. These facilities provide curative services in addition to public health functions. In particular, the roles of subcentres and posts are significant in the provision of primary medical care in resource-poor settings such as rural areas.

“Due to the predominance of the private sector in health-care, provision of public health services is shared between the public and private sectors. Private clinics and hospitals also provide services such as screening and health checks, maternal and child health, immunizations and education on healthy lifestyles. For example, only around 30% of immunizations offered by the national programme are provided by public health centres (Lee et al., 2013). Provision of services by the private sector is financed by the NHI if covered by the scheme and otherwise are self-reliant. Where the private sector is participating in provision of public health services, it is usually poorly coordinated with the public sector.

“Effective and efficient disease surveillance systems are the basis of disease prevention and control. As of 2013, 77 infectious diseases are required to be notified under the mandatory surveillance system.”

Source: World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (‎2015)‎. Republic of Korea health system review. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

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“The percentage of expenditure on public health/prevention in public sector health expenditure and total health expenditure is only 4.5% and 3.1%, respectively.”

Source: World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (‎2015)‎. Republic of Korea health system review. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

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World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other OECD member nations.

Page last updated August 1, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.