South Korea (2025, preliminary)
5,281.7
USD PPP per capita
+183.0 YoY
Government share
59.8
% of total (2024)
Private share
40.2
% of total (2024)
10-year change
+108.1
% since 2015

Data

Current Health Expenditure per Capita in South Korea (2025) — source data. OECD.
Year USD PPP per capita YoY Change
2025 5,281.7 +3.6%
2024 5,098.7 +7.2%
2023 4,756.6 +0.9%
2022 4,714.8 +14.8%
2021 4,106.4 +13.5%
2020 3,618.1 +7.2%
2019 3,374.8 +9.2%
2018 3,091 +9.1%
2017 2,832.1 +5.3%
2016 2,689.8 +6.0%
2015 2,538.3 +12.5%
2014 2,255.9 +4.3%
2013 2,163.5 +2.9%
2012 2,101.8 +4.3%
2011 2,014.3 +5.0%
2010 1,917.8 +11.3%
2009 1,723.6 +9.4%
2008 1,575.7 +8.8%
2007 1,448.2 +8.8%
2006 1,330.7 +12.2%
2005 1,186.4 n/a

About this Dataset

South Korea recorded 5,281.7 USD PPP per capita in current health expenditure in 2025, an OECD preliminary estimate up +183.0 from 2024's finalized figure of 5,098.7. Spending has grown in most years since 2005, when the series started at 1,186.4 USD PPP, with the steepest jump — +608.3 — coming in 2022.

Government and compulsory insurance schemes typically fund most of this spending: in 2024 they covered about 59.8% of the total (3,048.97 USD PPP per capita), with voluntary insurance and household out-of-pocket payments making up the remaining 40.2% (2,049.73 USD PPP). That split has shifted gradually toward government financing over the past decade, up from about 56.8% in 2010.

Compared with peer OECD economies, South Korea's per-capita spending is likely still below the OECD-38 average — roughly 82.6% of the unweighted average of about 5,755.1 USD PPP in 2023 — and well below Japan (5,963.6 USD PPP) and the United States (13,932.6 USD PPP) that same year. The chart above shows the full 2005–2025 trend; the table below lists annual values with year-on-year changes.

Data sourced from the OECD System of Health Accounts (SHA) via SDMX REST API, filtered to South Korea (KOR), total current health expenditure, converted to USD at purchasing power parity. The most recent year is flagged provisional by the OECD and may be revised. The OECD-38 average is an unweighted mean computed across all current OECD member countries with reported data for the comparison year.

Frequently Asked Questions

This indicator tracks total current spending on health care per person in South Korea, converted to USD at purchasing power parity (PPP) so levels are comparable across countries. It covers spending by government, private insurers, and households, published annually by the OECD under its System of Health Accounts (SHA). The most recent reading is 5,281.7 USD PPP in 2025 (preliminary).

The series runs through 2025, though that year is flagged as a preliminary OECD estimate. The last fully finalized observation is 2024, at 5,098.7 USD PPP per capita. Figures are typically revised as national accounts are finalized, so the 2025 value may shift in future OECD updates.

South Korea's 4,756.6 USD PPP in 2023 (its last directly comparable finalized year) sat at roughly 82.6% of the unweighted OECD-38 average of about 5,755.1 USD PPP that year. It also ran well below Japan (5,963.6 USD PPP in 2023) and far below the United States (13,932.6 USD PPP in 2023), though South Korea's per-capita spending has typically grown faster than most peer economies over the past decade.

In 2024, government and compulsory schemes covered an estimated 3,048.97 USD PPP per capita (about 59.8% of the total), while voluntary insurance and household out-of-pocket payments accounted for roughly 2,049.73 USD PPP (about 40.2%). The private share has stayed relatively high by OECD standards, though the government share has typically edged up over the past decade — from about 56.8% in 2010.

Per-capita spending has risen in most years since 2005, from 1,186.4 USD PPP that year to 5,281.7 USD PPP in 2025 — an increase of roughly 345% over two decades, and +108.1% just since 2015. The sharpest single-year jump came in 2022, at +608.3 USD PPP, with growth moderating to +41.8 USD PPP in 2023 before accelerating again in 2024.