Here's how often people around the world go to the doctor

You can learn a lot about a country’s healthcare system just by looking at how often people go to the doctor. This figure can tell you about the overall health of the population and how affordable it is to get medical care.

In countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this number varied from as little as an average of 2 visits in 2021 to 15. The overall average number of visits in these nations during this period was six, according to an OECD report.

The report says the differing ways healthcare is delivered across countries explains why some have fewer doctor visits. In places like Finland, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S., nurses and other healthcare professionals play a bigger role in primary care, leading to fewer visits to doctors.

Other factors include how doctors are paid and how much patients pay out-of-pocket. In some countries, like Germany, Japan, Korea, and Slovakia, doctors are mostly paid for each patient they see. These countries tend to have more doctor visits compared to countries where doctors are paid a fixed salary or a set amount per patient, like Denmark, Finland, Mexico, and Sweden.

However, in the United States, even though doctors are mostly paid per visit, people don’t see the doctor as often as you might expect. This is likely because many people have to pay a significant amount out-of-pocket when they see a doctor, which can discourage them from seeking care.

Here’s a ranking of OECD countries by average doctor consultations per year, based on the most recent data available.

Sweden, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Mexico — 2 visits per year

Sweden, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Mexico averaged two in-person doctor consultation visits per year.

United States, Greece, and Chile — 3 visits per year

The United States, Greece, and Chile averaged three doctor visits per year.

Finland, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, and Portugal — 4 visits per year

Finland, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, and Portugal had an average of four doctor visits a year.

France, Italy, Romania, Luxembourg, Spain, and Canada — 5 visits per year

Residents of France, Italy, Romania, Luxembourg, Spain, and Canada averaged 5 doctor visits per year.

Australia, Latvia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria — 6 visits per year

Australia, Latvia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria had an average of six doctor visits per year.

Israel, Belgium, Lithuania and Austria — 7 visits per year

People living in Israel, Belgium, Lithuania and Austria visited the doctor an average of seven times throughout the year.

Turkey, Czech Republic, and Poland — 8 visits per year

The countries of Turkey, Czech Republic, and Poland had an average eight visits per year.

Netherlands — 9 visits per year

Residents of the Netherlands visited the doctor an average of nine times a year.

Germany and Hungary — 10 visits per year

Germany and Hungary had an average of 10 doctor visits a year.

Japan and Slovak Repbulic — 11 visits per year

Japan and the Slovak Republic came in second place with an average of 11 in-person doctor consultations per year.

South Korea — 16 visits per year

South Korea came out on top with an average of 16 doctor visits per year.