South Korea has the best health care systems in the world, that’s according to the 2021 edition of the CEOWORLD magazine Health Care Index, which ranks 89 countries according to factors that contribute to overall health; rating Thailand as number thirteen.
Two additional Asian nations were among the top 10 in 2021: Taiwan (second place) and Japan (fifth). European countries occupy six of the top ten spots in this year’s ranking: Denmark (3rd place) Austria (4th place), France (7th), Spain (8th), Belgium (9th), and the United Kingdom 10th place.
Of the 89 countries surveyed, South Korea’s healthcare comes in 1st place on the list scoring 78.72 out of 100 on the Health Care Index. At the opposite end of the spectrum, with a score of 33.42, Venezuela top the list of the countries with the worst health care systems for 2021.
The Health Care Index is a statistical analysis of the overall quality of the health care system, including health care infrastructure; health care professionals (doctors, nursing staff, and other health workers) competencies; cost per capita; quality medicine availability, and government readiness.
It also takes into consideration other factors including, environmental, access to clean water, sanitation, government readiness on imposing penalties on risks such as tobacco use, and obesity.
Countries With The Best Health Care Systems, 2021
| Rank | Country | Health Care Index (Overall) | Infrastructure | Professionals | Cost | Medicine Availability | Government Readiness |
| 1 | South Korea | 78.72 | 87.16 | 14.23 | 83.59 | 82.3 | 87.89 |
| 2 | Taiwan | 77.7 | 79.05 | 13.06 | 78.39 | 78.99 | 65.09 |
| 3 | Denmark | 74.11 | 90.75 | 30.01 | 82.59 | 92.06 | 96.3 |
| 4 | Austria | 71.32 | 86.18 | 20.25 | 78.99 | 88.23 | 91.8 |
| 5 | Japan | 70.73 | 78.77 | 21.6 | 74.88 | 74.18 | 93.2 |
| 6 | Australia | 67.99 | 92.58 | 17.37 | 96.22 | 67.51 | 89.91 |
| 7 | France | 65.38 | 77.86 | 13.24 | 71.82 | 55.1 | 81.38 |
| 8 | Spain | 64.66 | 86.28 | 34.25 | 75.81 | 83.82 | 96.8 |
| 9 | Belgium | 64.63 | 72.48 | 24.51 | 68.68 | 64.78 | 94.9 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 61.73 | 88.63 | 14.66 | 75.61 | 90.25 | 88.41 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 60.16 | 79.09 | 13.56 | 69.93 | 67.29 | 85.03 |
| 12 | Finland | 59.6 | 77.76 | 13.41 | 68.97 | 59.65 | 84.59 |
| 13 | Thailand | 59.52 | 98.7 | 29.05 | 94.99 | 98.74 | 96.1 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 57.96 | 76.39 | 14.96 | 67.47 | 71.33 | 88.86 |
| 15 | Norway | 56.71 | 79.73 | 21.24 | 68.59 | 75.73 | 92.6 |
| 16 | New Zealand | 54.86 | 86.58 | 16.55 | 71.23 | 73.86 | 89.51 |
| 17 | Germany | 52.3 | 78.93 | 13.6 | 66.04 | 60.94 | 85.68 |
| 18 | Switzerland | 52.25 | 77.77 | 16.4 | 65.42 | 69.68 | 89.49 |
| 19 | India | 52.1 | 74.2 | 17.84 | 63.51 | 97.84 | 89.98 |
| 20 | United Arab Emirates | 51.99 | 68.21 | 14.95 | 60.36 | 55.08 | 88.74 |
