South Korean Health System Overview
Health System Rankings
Health System Outcomes
Coverage and Costs for Consumers
South Korea’s COVID-19 Policy
Population, Midyear 2022: 51,815,810
Population Density (Number of Persons per Square Kilometer): 523.69
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2022: 84.02
Projected Population, Midyear 2030: 51,290,214
Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2022: 17.49%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2030: 24.98%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2050: 39.39%
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.
Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as fair, poor or very poor, 2019 (%): 77.1%
People With Dementia Per 1,000 Population, 2021: 11.8
Projected Number of People With Dementia Per 1,000 Population in 2050: 41.2
Long-Term Care Workers Per 100 People Aged 65 And Over, 2019: 4
Long-Term Care Beds In Institutions and Hospitals Per 1,000 Population Aged 65 And Over, 2019: 60.4
Total long-term care spending as a share of GDP, 2019: 1.1%
Source: OECD (2021), Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en.
Formal Long-Term Care Workers At Home (FTE) (2017): 93,609
Formal Long-Term Care Workers In Institutions (FTE) (2017): 71,750
Long-Term Care Recipients In Institutions Other Than Hospitals (2017): 196,210
Long-Term Care Recipients At Home (2017): 417,494
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed Jan. 10, 2020.
“Long-term care insurance should be regarded as a backbone in the supply and provision of LTC. Eligibility is assessed by the local NHIS office and the Assessment Committee (organized and managed by NHIS offices) based on the activities of daily living (ADL) of applicants. With approval, every recipient makes a contract with agencies individually. The LTC providers submit their service plan based on the contract with the recipient, and care is mainly provided in kind. The basic schemes of care are set by national guidelines, defining the maximum amount of benefits for each category.
“Residential care or nursing home care is provided by LTC facilities, licensed nursing homes, retirement homes, and licensed residential establishments. Home care or community care includes ADL-supporting care at home, portable bath service, nursing care at home, and day care services. Cash benefits are only provided to those in remote areas or islands where no regular support is available. Cash benefits amount to less than benefits in kind. Quality assurance is focusing on the qualifications of LTC workers and staffing levels in institutions. Those who want to become care workers must complete a 240-hour training course and pass the national qualification exam. Providers are obliged to meet the minimum staff-patient ratio.”
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.
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 in the US and sixteen other nations.
Page last updated May 17, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.
