Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea

Korea: Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required was 0.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
0.1%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
116th
of 134 countries
All-time high
0.3%
in 2006
All-time low
0.1%
in 2014
Years of data
16
2006–2022

Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea, 2006–2022

0.10.150.20.250.32006201420222006: 0.3 % of people at risk2008: 0.3 % of people at risk2009: 0.2 % of people at risk2010: 0.2 % of people at risk2011: 0.2 % of people at risk2012: 0.2 % of people at risk2013: 0.2 % of people at risk2014: 0.1 % of people at risk2015: 0.1 % of people at risk2016: 0.1 % of people at risk2017: 0.1 % of people at risk2018: 0.1 % of people at risk2019: 0.1 % of people at risk2020: 0.1 % of people at risk2021: 0.1 % of people at risk2022: 0.1 % of people at risk

Source: Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of people at risk.

Analysis

Korea recorded 0.1% for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 50.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea peaked at 0.3% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2014.

Korea ranks 116th of 134 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea, year by year

Annual values for Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea, 2006 to 2022.
Year % of people at risk Change
2006 0.3%
2008 0.3% +0.0%
2009 0.2% -33.3%
2010 0.2% +0.0%
2011 0.2% +0.0%
2012 0.2% +0.0%
2013 0.2% +0.0%
2014 0.1% -50.0%
2015 0.1% +0.0%
2016 0.1% +0.0%
2017 0.1% +0.0%
2018 0.1% +0.0%
2019 0.1% +0.0%
2020 0.1% +0.0%
2021 0.1% +0.0%
2022 0.1% +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 3
2010s 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 10
2020s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 3

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 114 Austria 0.2% compare
  2. 114 Tonga 0.2%
  3. 116 Australia 0.1% compare
  4. 116 Canada 0.1% compare
  5. 116 France 0.1% compare
  6. 116 Ireland 0.1% compare
  7. 116 Poland 0.1% compare
  8. 116 Romania 0.1% compare
  9. 116 Slovenia 0.1% compare

See the full ranking of 134 places →

More population data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea?
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea was 0.1% in 2022, according to Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 2006.
What is the lowest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2014.
How does Korea rank for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required?
Korea ranks 116th out of 134 countries with data for 2022.
Is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Korea data come from?
The figures come from Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-the-population-at-risk-of-catastrophic-expenditure-when-surgical-care-is-required/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required
Unit
% of people at risk
Source
Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
134 places, 2,380 data points, 2003–2022
Last refreshed

Catastrophic expenditure is defined as direct out-of-pocket payments for surgical and anaesthesia care exceeding 10% of total income.