S. Korea has fewer doctors per capita than OECD average

South Korean medical facilities have more patient beds and high-tech equipment than anywhere else in the world but not enough doctors, data showed.

The country ranked high among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members in the number of hospital beds and advanced medical equipment, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Service on Monday.

As of 2016, it had an average of 12 hospital beds per 1,000 people, 2.4 times higher than the OECD average and second only to Japan, which had 13.1 beds.

When it came to hospitals for elderly patients, Korea ranked the highest with 36.4 beds for every 1,000 senior citizens aged 65 and older.

The country’s medical institutions were also well stocked with advanced medical equipment. It owned 27.8 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners per 1 million people, ranking fifth after Japan (51.7), the United States (36.7), Germany (34.5) and Italy (28.2).

It also carried 37.8 computerized tomography (CT) scanners, more than the OECD average of 26.1.

But Korea had only 2.3 doctors for every 1,000 people, similar to Chile and faring slightly better than Turkey, which scored the lowest at 1.8. The OECD average was 3.4.

Regional disparity in medical personnel was also serious. Seoul, the country’s capital, had the most doctors relative to population at 3.3. The Sejong administrative city was the most understaffed with 1.1 doctors. North Gyeongsang province also hovered low at 1.7, with Incheon, Ulsan, Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provinces at 1.8.

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