The world health report

Republic of Korea

Figures computed by WHO to assure comparability; they are not necessarily the official statistics of Member States, which may use alternative rigorous methods.

Table 1: Basic indicators for all WHO Member States


Population estimates 1992 2002
Total population (000) 47430
Annual growth rate (%) 0.8
Dependency ratio (per 100) 43 39
% of population aged 60+ years 8.2 11.8
Total fertility rate 1.7 1.4
Life expectancy at birth (years) Males Females
2002 71.8 79.4
uncertainty 71.3 - 72.3 79.2 - 79.6
Both sexes 2002 75.5
Probability of dying (per 1000) Males Females
Under age 5 years 2002 8 7
uncertainty 7 - 9 7 - 8
Between ages 15 and 59 years 2002 166 61
uncertainty 156 - 176 59 - 63

Table 4: Healthy life expectancy (HALE) in all WHO Member States, estimates for 2002


2002 Males Females
Healthy life expectancy (HALE) (years) Total population at birth 67.8
At birth 64.8 70.8
Uncertainty interval 64.1 - 65.6 70.1 - 71.6
At age 60 13.2 17.1
Uncertainty interval 13.0 - 13.5 16.8 - 17.3
Expectation of lost healthy years at birth (years) 6.9 8.6
Percentage of total life expectancy lost 9.7 10.8

Table 5: Selected national health accounts indicators: measured levels of expenditure on health, 1997-2001


1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Total expenditure on health as % of GDP 5 5.1 5.6 5.9 6
General government expenditure on health as % of total expenditure on health 41 46.2 43.1 44.4 44.4
Private expenditure on health as % of total expenditure on health 59 53.8 56.9 55.6 55.6
General government expenditure on health as % of total government expenditure 9 9.3 9.7 10.7 9.5
External resources for health as % of total expenditure on health 0 0 0 0 0
Social security expenditure on health as % of general government expenditure on health 71.9 74.5 75.2 77.3 77.2
Out-of-pocket expenditure as % of private expenditure on health 78.2 77.4 75.7 74.2 74.3
Private prepaid plans as % of private expenditure on health 11.3 12.9 13.6 15.6 17.2

n/a Used when the information accessed indicates that a cell should have an entry but no estimates could be made.
0 Used when no evidence of the schemes to which the cell relates exist. Some estimates yielding a ratio inferior to 0.04% are shown as 0.

Table 6: Selected national health accounts indicators: measured levels of per capita expenditure on health, 1997-2001


1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Per capita total expenditure on health at average exchange rate (US$) 520 352 484 577 532
Per capita total expenditure on health at international dollar rate 657 628 762 893 948
Per capita government expenditure on health at average exchange rate (US$) 213 163 209 256 236
Per capita government expenditure on health at international dollar rate 270 290 329 396 421

n/a Used when the information accessed indicates that a cell should have an entry but no estimates could be made.

Table 7: Millenium Development Goals: Selected health indicators in all WHO Member States, 2000 (unles specified)


Children under five years of age underweight for age % n/a
Under-five mortality rate Per 1000 live births 7
Infant mortality rate Per 1000 live births 5
One-year-olds immunized against measles (2001) % 97
Maternal mortality ratio Per 100 000 live births 20
Births attended by skilled health personnel % 100
HIV prevalence among 15-49-years-olds % <0.1
Malaria mortality rate Per 100 000 0
Tuberculosis prevalence Per 100 000 140
Tuberculosis mortality rate Per 100 000 10
Tuberculosis cases Detected under DOTS (2001) %
Cured under DOTS %
Population using solid fuels % <5
Population with sustainable access to an improved water source Urban % 97
Rural % 71
Population with access to improved sanitation Urban % 76
Rural % 4

b Estimates from the 1990s.
...Countries not implementing DOTS or not reporting to WHO
n/a Data not available

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