Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2022

1. Country and territory dashboards

The aim of this chapter is to show a set of key indicators to compare performance across countries and territories in each of the following dimensions:

• Health status

• Risk factors for health

• Quality of care

• Health care resources

For each dimension, a set of indicators is presented in the form of country and territories dashboards. The indicators are selected based on their policy relevance, but also on data availability and interpretability. Indicators where the availability of recent data for Asia-Pacific countries and territories is highest are therefore prioritised.

In order to assess the comparative performance across countries and territory, each country/territory is classified for every indicator based on how it compares against the median of the income group it categorised into. Therefore, countries and territories significantly - defined as one median absolute deviation - above/below their respective group median will be classified as better/worse than median (▲/▼), with the remaining countries and territories classified as close to the median (⦿).

Methodology

In order to allow for cross-country comparisons of performance, countries and territories are split according to their income group (high income, upper-middle income, lower-middle and low income). The central tendency measures presented, for all indicators and income groups, are medians.

In order to classify countries and territories as “better than”, “close to”, or “worse than” the central tendency of any indicator, a measure of statistical dispersion is needed to compute the reasonable range for values close to the central tendency value, with anything above or below classified accordingly. The preferred measure is the Median Absolute Deviation (MAD), since it is a robust measure that is both more efficient and less biased than a simple standard deviation when outliers are present.

Countries and territories are classified as “better than median” if they lie above the median + 1 MAD, “worse than median” if they lie below the median – 1 MAD, and “close to the median” if they lie within ± 1 MAD from the median. Given the nature of the indicators presented, for “under age 5 mortality rate” and “smoking”, “alcohol consumption” and “children and adolescent overweight”, countries and territories are classified as “better than median” if they lie below the median - 1 MAD, “worse than median” if they lie above the median + 1 MAD, and “close to the median” if they lie within ± 1 MAD from the median.

Health status

The five (5) indicators used to compare health status are life expectancy at birth for females (2020), life expectancy at birth for males (2020), survival to age 65 for females (2020), survival to age 65 for males (2020), and under age 5 mortality rate per 1 000 live births (2020).

Table 1.1. Dashboard on health status

▲ Better than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Worse than group-specific central tendency
Country	Life expectancy (F) at birth		Life expectancy (M) at birth				Survival to age 65 (F)				Survival to age 65 (M)				Under age 5 mortality rate
	In years		In years				%				%				Per 1 000 live births
High income	86.3		81.3				94.5				89.7				3.0
Australia	85.3	⦿	81.2		⦿		93.8		⦿		89.9		⦿		3.7	⦿
Brunei Darussalam	77.3	▼	74.9		▼		84.8		▼		78.5		▼		11.5	▼
Hong Kong (China)	88.0	⦿	82.9		▲		94.9		⦿		90.3		⦿		2.0	⦿
Japan	87.7	⦿	81.6		⦿		94.7		⦿		89.5		⦿		2.5	⦿
Korea	86.5	⦿	80.5		⦿		95.3		⦿		88.4		⦿		3.0	⦿
Macau (China)	87.3	⦿	81.4		⦿		96.2		⦿		90.7		⦿
New Zealand	84.1	▼	80.5		⦿		92.5		▼		89.1		⦿		4.7	⦿
Singapore	86.1	⦿	81.5		⦿		94.4		⦿		90.4		⦿		2.2	⦿
Upper-middle income	78.9		74.0				87.5				76.1				8.6
China	79.4	⦿	75.0		⦿		89.4		⦿		83.8		▲		7.3	⦿
Fiji	69.5	▼	65.8		▼		73.6		▼		62.5		▼		27.4	▼
Malaysia	78.5	⦿	74.4		⦿		87.1		⦿		77.2		⦿		8.6	⦿
Thailand	81.1	⦿	73.7		⦿		88.0		⦿		75.0		⦿		8.7	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	74.2		68.7				79.9				69.2				26.4
Bangladesh	74.9	⦿	71.1		▲		80.4		⦿		74.6		▲		29.1	⦿
Cambodia	72.2	⦿	67.7		⦿		78.3		⦿		68.7		⦿		25.7	⦿
DPRK	75.9	⦿		68.8		⦿		83.3		⦿		71.4		⦿	16.5	⦿
India	71.2	▼	68.7		⦿		75.4		▼		69.2		⦿		32.6	⦿
Indonesia	74.2	⦿	69.8		⦿		80.3		⦿		72.0		⦿		23.0	⦿
Lao PDR	70.1	▼	66.4		▼		74.9		▼		67.2		⦿		44.1	▼
Mongolia	74.3	⦿	66.0		▼		80.0		⦿		60.1		▼		15.4	▲
Myanmar	70.3	▼	64.3		▼		75.3		▼		62.2		▼		43.7	▼
Nepal	72.5	⦿	69.5		⦿		79.2		⦿		72.9		⦿		28.2	⦿
Pakistan	68.5	▼	66.5		⦿		73.4		▼		69.0		⦿		65.2	▼
Papua New Guinea	66.1	▼	63.5		▼		69.3		▼		61.1		▼		43.9	▼
Philippines	75.6	⦿	67.4		⦿		79.9		⦿		65.4		⦿		26.4	⦿
Solomon Islands	75.0	⦿	71.4		▲		80.7		⦿		74.3		▲		19.4	⦿
Sri Lanka	80.4	▲	73.8		▲		90.9		▲		78.5		▲		6.9	▲
Viet Nam	79.6	▲	71.4		▲		87.0		▲		72.4		⦿		20.9	⦿

Note: F, females; M, males.

Source: Life expectancy at birth by sex, UN World Population Prospects 2022 edition. Survival to age 65, see Figure 3.3. Under age 5 mortality, see Figure 3.9.

Risk factors

The five (5) indicators used to compare risk factors are the age‑standardised prevalence estimates for daily tobacco use among persons aged 15 and above for females (2020), the age‑standardised prevalence estimates for daily tobacco use among persons aged 15 and above for males (2020), the share of population living in rural areas with access to basic sanitation (latest year available), the share of population living in rural areas with access to basic drinking water (latest year available) and the prevalence of overweight among children under age 5 (latest year available).

Table 1.2. Dashboard on risk factors for health

▲ Better than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Worse than group-specific central tendency
Country	Tobacco use (F)		Tobacco use (M)		Access to basic sanitation (rural areas)		Access to basic drinking water (rural areas)		Children under age 5 overweight
	% of daily tobacco use		% of daily tobacco use		% population		% population		% population under age 5
High income	8.0		29.0						8.3
Australia	11.5	⦿	15.6	▲					22.0	▼
Brunei Darussalam	2.3	▲	30.0	⦿					8.3	⦿
Japan	10.0	⦿	30.1	⦿
Korea	5.9	⦿	35.7	▼					7.3	⦿
New Zealand	15.0	▼	15.0	▲
Singapore	5.0	⦿	28.0	⦿
Upper-middle income	2.3		42.6		98.3		89.9		6.9
China	1.7	⦿	49.4	▼	87.9	▼	89.7	⦿	8.5	⦿
Fiji	10.5	▼	35.6	▲	99.3	⦿	89.1	⦿	5.1	⦿
Malaysia	1.1	⦿	43.8	⦿			90.2	⦿	5.2	⦿
Thailand	2.9	⦿	41.3	⦿	98.3	⦿	100.0	▲	9.2	▼
Lower-middle and low income	7.3		47.9		69.1		88.6		2.6
Bangladesh	17.1	▼	52.2	⦿	55.0	⦿	97.9	⦿	2.4	⦿
Cambodia	6.0	⦿	36.1	▲	61.0	⦿	65.1	▼	2.2	⦿
DPRK	0.0	▲	34.8	▲	73.1	⦿	88.8	⦿	2.3	⦿
India	13.0	⦿	41.3	⦿	67.0	⦿	88.8	⦿	1.6	⦿
Indonesia	3.7	⦿	71.4	▼	79.9	⦿	85.7	⦿	8.0	▼
Lao PDR	10.3	⦿	53.3	⦿	69.1	⦿	78.5	⦿	3.5	⦿
Mongolia	7.1	⦿	51.7	⦿	50.6	▼	61.1	▼	10.5	▼
Myanmar	19.7	▼	68.5	▼	71.0	⦿	78.4	⦿	0.8	⦿
Nepal	12.8	⦿	47.9	⦿	76.7	⦿	90.2	⦿	2.6	⦿
Pakistan	7.3	⦿	33	▲	60.2	⦿	88.6	⦿	2.5	⦿
Papua New Guinea	25.1	▼	53.5	⦿	14.7	▼	39.1	▼	13.7	▼
Philippines	6.5	⦿	39.3	⦿	82.2	⦿	91.1	⦿	4.0	⦿
Solomon Islands	19.2	▼	53.8	⦿	20.6	▼	59.4	▼	4.5	⦿
Sri Lanka	2.6	⦿	41.4	⦿	93.9	▲	90.5	⦿	2.0	⦿
Viet Nam	2.2	⦿	47.4	⦿	85.2	▲	95.5	⦿	5.9	▼

Note: F, females; M, males.

Source: Tobacco use, see Figure 4.11. Access to basic sanitation, see Figure 4.9. Access to drinking water, see Figure 4.10. Children overweight, see Figure 4.8.

Quality of care

The four (4) indicators used to compare quality of care are the age‑standardised breast cancer mortality rate (2020), the age‑standardised cervical cancer mortality rate (2020), and vaccination coverage for three doses of diphtheria tetanus toxoid and pertussis (DTP3) and for 1^st dose of measles (MCV) among children (2021).

Table 1.3. Dashboard on quality of care

▲ Better than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Worse than group-specific central tendency
Country	Breast cancer mortality		Cervical cancer mortality		Vaccination for DTP3		Vaccination for measles, 1st dose
	Age‑standardised rates per 100 000 women		Age‑standardised rates per 100 000 women		Coverage (%), children		Coverage (%), children
High income	12.1		2.5		96.0		96.5
Australia	11.7	⦿	1.5	⦿	95.0	⦿	93.0	▼
Brunei Darussalam	12.5	⦿	5.7	▼	99.0	▲	99.0	⦿
Japan	9.9	⦿	2.9	⦿	96.0	⦿	98.0	⦿
Korea	6.4	▲	1.8	⦿	98.0	⦿	98.0	⦿
New Zealand	14.1	⦿	2.0	⦿	90.0	▼	91.0	▼
Singapore	17.8	▼	3.3	⦿	96.0	⦿	95.0	⦿
Upper-middle income	16.7		6.6		98.0		96.0
China	10.0	⦿	5.3	⦿	99.0	⦿	99.0	▲
Fiji	41.0	▼	20.7	▼	99.0	⦿	96.0	⦿
Malaysia	20.7	⦿	5.8	⦿	95.0	▼	96.0	⦿
Thailand	12.7	⦿	7.4	⦿	97.0	⦿	96.0	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	13.3		8.3		83.0		81.0
Bangladesh	9.3	⦿	6.7	⦿	98.0	⦿	97.0	⦿
Cambodia	10.3	⦿	8.3	⦿	92.0	⦿	84.0	⦿
DPRK	10.0	⦿	6.5	⦿	41.0	▼	42.0	▼
India	13.3	⦿	11.4	⦿	85.0	⦿	89.0	⦿
Indonesia	15.3	⦿	14.4	▼	67.0	⦿	72.0	⦿
Lao PDR	15.8	⦿	6.7	⦿	75.0	⦿	73.0	⦿
Mongolia	3.9	▲	11.6	⦿	95.0	⦿	95.0	⦿
Myanmar	9.6	⦿	14.4	▼	37.0	▼	44.0	▼
Nepal	7.6	▲	11.1	⦿	91.0	⦿	90.0	⦿
Pakistan	18.8	▼	4.0	▲	83.0	⦿	81.0	⦿
Papua New Guinea	27.7	▼	19.1	▼	31.0	▼	38.0	▼
Philippines	19.3	▼	7.9	⦿	57.0	▼	57.0	▼
Solomon Islands	18.9	▼	16.4	▼	87.0	⦿	67.0	⦿
Sri Lanka	11.0	⦿	4.9	⦿	96.0	⦿	97.0	⦿
Viet Nam	13.8	⦿	3.4	▲	83.0	⦿	89.0	⦿

Source: Breast cancer mortality, see Figure 7.9. Cervical cancer mortality, see Figure 7.12. Vaccination for DTP3, see Figure 7.10. Vaccination for measles, see Figure 7.1.

Health care resources

The five (5) indicators used to compare health care resources are health expenditure per capita in international dollars (USD PPPs) (2019), the share of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending in total current health spending (2019), the number of doctors per 1 000 population (latest year available), the number of nurses per 1 000 population (latest year available), and the number of hospital beds per 1 000 population (latest year available). Given the nature of the indicators presented, where a higher or lower value may not be indicative of better or worse performance, the arrows simply imply that the values are significantly higher or lower than the median using the same methodology.

Table 1.4. Dashboard on health care resources

▲ Higher than   ⦿ Close to   ▼ Lower than central tendency
Country	Health spending		Out-of-pocket spending		Doctors per 1 000 population		Nurses per 1 000 population		Hospital beds per 1 000 population
	International dollars (USD PPPs) per capita		Share of total health expenditure		Number		Number		Number
High income	4 271		14.5		2.5		7.1		3.4
Australia	5 294	▲	16.0	⦿	3.8	▲	12.2	▲	3.8	⦿
Brunei Darussalam	1 401	▼	5.7	▼	1.6	▼	5.8	⦿	2.9	⦿
Hong Kong (China)					2.0	⦿	6.2	⦿	4.1	⦿
Japan	4 587	⦿	12.9	⦿	2.5	⦿	11.8	▲	12.6	▲
Korea	3 521	⦿	30.2	▲	2.5	⦿	7.9	⦿	12.7	▲
Macau (China)					2.6	⦿	3.8	▼	2.5	⦿
New Zealand	4 439	⦿	12.2	⦿	3.4	▲	10.6	▲	2.7	⦿
Singapore	4 102	⦿	30.2	▲	2.5	⦿	6.2	⦿	2.0	⦿
Upper-middle income	805		23.9		1.6		3.2		2.0
China	880	⦿	35.2	⦿	2.2	▲	3.1	⦿	5.0	▲
Fiji	545	▼	13.2	⦿	0.9	⦿	3.5	▲	2.0	⦿
Malaysia	1 133	▲	34.6	⦿	2.3	▲	3.4	⦿	1.3	⦿
Thailand	730	⦿	8.7	▼	1.0	⦿	3.1	⦿	2.1	⦿
Lower-middle and low income	227		48.6		0.7		1.7		1.1
Bangladesh	119	⦿	72.7	▲	0.7	⦿	0.4	▼	0.9	⦿
Cambodia	316	⦿	64.4	▲	0.2	⦿	0.6	▼	0.9	⦿
DPRK					3.7	▲	4.1	▲	14.3	▲
India	210	⦿	54.8	⦿	0.7	⦿	1.7	⦿	0.5	⦿
Indonesia	358	▲	34.2	▼	0.6	⦿	2.3	⦿	1.0	⦿
Lao PDR	212	⦿	41.8	⦿	0.4	⦿	1.0	⦿	1.5	⦿
Mongolia	484	▲	34.8	▼	3.9	▲	3.9	▲	8.0	▲
Myanmar	227	⦿	76.0	▲	0.7	⦿	0.8	⦿	1.0	⦿
Nepal	177	⦿	57.9	⦿	0.9	⦿	2.1	⦿	1.2	⦿
Pakistan	166	⦿	53.8	⦿	1.1	⦿	0.4	▼	0.6	⦿
Papua New Guinea	105	⦿	9.9	▼	0.1	▼	0.4	▼
Philippines	379	▲	48.6	⦿	0.8	⦿	4.6	▲	1.0	⦿
Solomon Islands					0.2	⦿	2.1	⦿	1.4	⦿
Sri Lanka	569	▲	45.6	⦿	1.2	⦿	2.1	⦿	4.0	▲
Viet Nam	557	▲	43.0	⦿	0.8	⦿	1.1	⦿	2.6	⦿

Source: Health spending, see Figure 6.1. Out-of-pocket spending, see Figure 6.8. Doctors per 1 000 population, see Figure 5.1. Nurses per 1 000 population, see Figure 5.2. Hospital beds per 1 000 population, see Figure 5.11.