TOP 10 Countries by Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2025)
2025 Recent-Data Hospital Bed Density Ranking Overview
Korea, Rep. ranks first among countries meeting this ranking's 2020-or-later freshness cutoff, with 12.8 hospital beds per 1,000 population in its latest World Bank observation from 2022. Japan follows at 12.6, while Belarus ranks third at 9.8.
This 2025 edition uses a recent-data methodology rather than the full mixed-year country universe: a country's latest WDI hospital-bed observation must be from 2020 or later. The cutoff is specific to this ranking and is not a World Bank or WHO threshold. The WDI series was checked on September 19, 2026.
For the broader country table that retains each country's latest available WDI observation even when the observation is older than 2020, see the full hospital beds by country ranking. This page instead focuses on a Top 10 recent-data subset.
Metric: hospital beds per 1,000 population. Unit: beds per 1,000 people. Direction: higher values rank higher. Source mode: single-source. Source: World Bank WDI, based on WHO data supplemented by country data. Coverage: 10 countries. Status: 10 official_value, 0 calculated_value, 0 official_forecast, 0 modeled_projection.
Korea, Rep.; latest WDI observation: 2022.
Hungary; latest WDI observation: 2022.
10 countries meeting the 2020+ freshness cutoff.
World Bank WDI · Top 10 observations from 2022–2023 · checked September 19, 2026.
10 official_value · 0 calculated_value · 0 official_forecast · 0 modeled_projection.
What hospital beds per 1,000 population means
Hospital beds per 1,000 population measures inpatient bed availability relative to population. In the World Bank series, hospital beds include inpatient beds available in public, private, general and specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers; in most cases, both acute-care and chronic-care beds are included.
The indicator measures inpatient capacity, not healthcare quality. It does not directly measure ICU capacity, bed occupancy, geographic access, waiting times, treatment outcomes, affordability or whether staffing levels are sufficient to operate available capacity effectively.
Health-system design also affects bed density. OECD reporting shows that greater use of day care and shorter average hospital stays has contributed to declining bed numbers per capita in many OECD countries.
Top 3 recent-data leaders at a glance
Highest latest observations among countries meeting the 2020+ freshness cutoff
| Rank | Entity | Hospital beds per 1,000 | Region / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea, Rep. | 12.8 | East Asia & Pacific; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 2 | Japan | 12.6 | East Asia & Pacific; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 3 | Belarus | 9.8 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2023; 2025 recent-data edition. |
Chart: Top 10 countries meeting the recent-data cutoff
Korea, Rep. and Japan form a clear top pair among countries included in this recent-data ranking. Belarus ranks third at 9.8 beds per 1,000 population, while the remaining seven countries range from 8.6 to 6.6.
Methodology
The numeric ranking uses World Bank World Development Indicators code SH.MED.BEDS.ZS, “Hospital beds (per 1,000 people).” World Bank identifies the underlying source as WHO data supplemented by country data. Values from OECD or national databases are not mixed into the ranking.
Metric and unit
The metric is hospital beds per 1,000 people. World Bank describes the series as inpatient beds available in public, private, general and specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers; in most cases acute and chronic-care beds are included.
Ranking direction
Countries are sorted from highest to lowest published WDI value. Higher hospital-bed density receives the higher rank.
2025 recent-data edition
This page is the 2025 recent-data edition of the ranking. The WDI series was re-checked on September 19, 2026, so the update date is stated separately from the observation years.
Freshness cutoff
A country's latest WDI hospital-bed observation must be from 2020 or later. The cutoff is a methodological rule for this ranking, not a World Bank or WHO threshold. Missing values are not estimated, and older observations are excluded rather than carried forward.
Observation years
The Top 10 observations are from 2022 and 2023. The year shown in each table row is the observation year of that published value.
Data status
All ten ranked values have official_value status because they are directly published observations in the selected WDI series. No calculated values, official forecasts or modeled projections are mixed into the ranking.
Source hierarchy and conflicts
World Bank WDI is the sole numeric ranking source. WHO metadata is used to explain the underlying indicator, while OECD is used only for interpretation and comparability context. Numeric conflicts are not averaged; the WDI row value and its published source year control the ranking.
WHO and World Bank units
WHO's source indicator metadata standardizes hospital-bed density per 10,000 population, while World Bank WDI publishes SH.MED.BEDS.ZS per 1,000 people. The table follows the World Bank unit and published WDI values directly.
Precision and rounding
Values are reproduced at the precision shown in the public WDI country listing. Additional decimal places are not inferred from rounded public values.
What this metric does not measure
Hospital-bed density does not directly measure ICU capacity, staffing adequacy, occupancy, geographic access, waiting times, affordability or treatment outcomes.
The 2020+ cutoff changes the composition of the ranking. For example, the current WDI listing shows Monaco at 22.0 beds per 1,000 in 2014 and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at 12.8 in 2018. Both are excluded because their latest observations predate the cutoff.
WHO states that hospital-bed data are compiled from regional offices and country sources and uses UN World Population Prospects for the population denominator. WHO lists an expected dissemination frequency of two to three years and notes that there is no global norm for hospital-bed density relative to population.
Cross-country comparability is not perfect. World Bank notes that differences in sources and monitoring methods can affect comparability, while OECD documents additional differences in hospital and bed coverage across national datasets.
Top 10 Countries by Hospital Beds per 1,000 — Recent-Data Ranking
The table ranks the ten highest recent WDI observations meeting the 2020+ freshness cutoff. Source years are shown for every country.
Top 10 recent-data countries · World Bank WDI · 2020+ cutoff
| Rank | Entity | Hospital beds per 1,000 | Region / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea, Rep. | 12.8 | East Asia & Pacific; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 2 | Japan | 12.6 | East Asia & Pacific; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 3 | Belarus | 9.8 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2023; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 4 | Mongolia | 8.6 | East Asia & Pacific; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2023; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 5 | Bulgaria | 8.2 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2023; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 6 | Germany | 7.5 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2023; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 7 | Romania | 7.2 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 8 | Russian Federation | 6.8 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2023; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 9 | Austria | 6.7 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
| 10 | Hungary | 6.6 | Europe & Central Asia; official_value; World Bank WDI; source year 2022; 2025 recent-data edition. |
Data checked against the public World Bank WDI listing on September 19, 2026. Czechia and Kazakhstan each have a latest qualifying value of 6.5 beds per 1,000, below Hungary's 6.6 tenth-place value.
Insights from the recent-data Top 10
Key Insight
Korea, Rep. and Japan are the only countries included in this ranking above 12 hospital beds per 1,000 population, at 12.8 and 12.6 respectively.
Notable Pattern
Seven of the ten ranked values fall between 6.6 and 8.6 beds per 1,000, while Korea, Rep. and Japan are the only two above 12.
Regional / Source Concentration
Seven of the ten included countries are in Europe & Central Asia, while Korea, Rep., Japan and Mongolia are in East Asia & Pacific. All ten numeric rows use World Bank WDI as the ranking source.
Outlier
The largest adjacent gap is between Japan in second place at 12.6 and Belarus in third at 9.8: a difference of 2.8 beds per 1,000 population.
What this recent-data ranking means
Hospital-bed density is best interpreted as a measure of inpatient infrastructure relative to population. A higher value indicates more measured inpatient beds per resident, but it does not by itself establish better healthcare quality, access or outcomes.
Physical beds are only one part of usable hospital capacity. OECD notes that during periods of acute pressure, adequate staffing can constrain effective capacity even when physical beds exist. Occupancy rates provide complementary information about how much capacity remains available when demand rises.
All ten rows have the same official_value status; no calculated or projected values are mixed into the ranking. Country comparisons should still be read with the source-year and definition notes in mind because differences in hospital coverage, treatment models and reporting systems can affect international comparability.
Download the TOP 10 Countries by Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2025) dataset
TOP 10 Countries by Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2025)
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Download Excel + CSV Data PackFAQ
Which country ranks first in this recent-data hospital bed ranking?
Korea, Rep. ranks first among countries meeting the 2020-or-later freshness cutoff, with 12.8 hospital beds per 1,000 population in its latest World Bank WDI observation from 2022.
Are these hospital-bed values measurements from 2025 or forecasts for 2025?
Neither. This is the 2025 recent-data edition of the ranking, updated in September 2026. The Top 10 observations are from 2022 and 2023, and no country value is projected, interpolated or modeled forward to 2025.
How is this page different from the full hospital beds by country ranking?
This page includes only countries whose latest WDI hospital-bed observation is from 2020 or later. The broader Top 100 ranking uses each country's latest available WDI observation even when that observation is older, so the ranking universes are different.
Why use a 2020-or-later freshness cutoff?
The cutoff is a methodological inclusion rule for this ranking, not a World Bank or WHO standard. It avoids presenting much older historical observations as if they represented recent hospital capacity.
Why is Monaco not ranked first here?
The current World Bank listing shows Monaco at 22.0 beds per 1,000 population, but that observation is from 2014. Because Monaco's latest value predates this ranking's 2020 cutoff, it is excluded.
Does more hospital beds mean better healthcare?
Not necessarily. Hospital-bed density measures inpatient capacity, not treatment quality, outcomes, staffing adequacy, occupancy, access or efficiency.
Why does WHO use beds per 10,000 while World Bank uses beds per 1,000?
WHO's source indicator metadata standardizes hospital-bed density per 10,000 population. World Bank publishes the WDI hospital-bed series as beds per 1,000 people. This ranking follows the World Bank unit directly.
Does the indicator represent ICU beds?
No. General hospital-bed density and ICU-bed capacity are different indicators. ICU availability should be evaluated separately.
Sources
World Bank Data — Hospital beds per 1,000 people
Sole numeric ranking source for row values and observation years. The public country listing was checked on September 19, 2026.
World Bank WDI Metadata — SH.MED.BEDS.ZS
Metadata source for the indicator definition, unit, provider, coverage and comparability limitations.
https://databank.worldbank.org/metadataglossary/world-development-indicators/series/SH.MED.BEDS.ZS
WHO Global Health Observatory — Hospital beds
Methodology source for the underlying WHO hospital-bed indicator, including the per-10,000 definition, population denominator and expected dissemination frequency.
https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/97
OECD Health at a Glance 2025 — Hospital beds and occupancy
Interpretation source for staffing, occupancy, day care, length of stay and cross-country comparability. OECD country values are not mixed into the ranking.
