Countries with the Most Hospital Beds Per Capita

About This Dataset

The countries with the most hospital beds relative to their population, measured as beds per 1,000 people, using the latest available data (2018-2022) compiled by WHO and OECD. Data years vary slightly by country. A high ratio indicates large inpatient capacity, though it does not by itself measure quality of care.

✨ AI Insight

East Asian and former Eastern Bloc countries dominate hospital-bed capacity. North Korea reports the highest figure at 13.2 beds per 1,000 people, though its self-reported health data is hard to verify. The two clear, well-documented leaders are South Korea (12.65) and Japan (12.4), whose health systems rely heavily on long inpatient stays and abundant hospital capacity - roughly four to five times the level of many Western countries. After a steep drop, a cluster of Central and Eastern European states follows: Belarus (9.7), Russia (8.0), Germany (7.82), Bulgaria (7.82) and Romania (7.12). The prominence of post-Soviet states reflects a legacy of hospital-centred healthcare, while wealthy Western nations - which have shifted toward outpatient care - are largely absent from the top of this ranking.

Source: World Health Organization / OECD

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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North Korea leads with 13 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 9 · median: 8.

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Gap in All Time: North Korea is 1.9× larger than Hungary.