Health care quality and outcomes around the world can differ depending on gender. If you are a woman considering relocating to another country, finding out how your destination treats women and girls is important. Reproductive health care, including contraception, prenatal care, childbirth, postnatal care, miscarriages and abortion, powerfully impact the health of women. Elder care and the detection and treatment of gynecological cancers also factor into global women's healthcare rankings. Economic and cultural factors can keep women and girls from getting needed health care in some countries. And the World Health Organization reports that some countries do not offer a full range of care.
Health care quality and outcomes around the world can differ depending on gender. If you are a woman considering relocating to another country, finding out how your destination treats women and girls is important. Reproductive health care, including contraception, prenatal care, childbirth, postnatal care, miscarriages and abortion can all have a great impact on the health of women. Elder care and the detection and treatment of gynecological cancers also factor into global women's health rankings. Economic and cultural factors can keep women and girls from getting needed health care in some countries, the World Health Organization reports, and some countries do not offer a full range of care.
Finding the best countries for women's health care is essential for women world travelers, as is ensuring access to that care and insurance to cover any costs. Women traveling or moving overseas should review a women's healthcare ranking by country prior to leaving home to ensure they will have the care they need to live vibrant, healthy lives.
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Women's Health Around the World
The medical technology company Hologic and Gallup launched a survey in 2020 to measure the state of women's health care around the globe. The study gauges women's general health, mental health, preventative care, safety and basic needs such as shelter, food and clean water.
The overall score in the 2023 Global Women's Health Index was 54 out of 100, and no country scored higher than 70.
What Country Has the Most Advanced Healthcare for Women?
Hologic's women's healthcare index includes factors such as the quality of care, preventive medicine and screening, and women's overall wellbeing. It's worth noting that the United States is 23rd on this most recent women's healthcare index, with a score of 61. American women may find better and more affordable healthcare overseas.
The top five countries for women's healthcare are as follows:
Taiwan is the top-ranked country in Hologic's health rankings by country. With a high standard of living, excellent scores in global women's health, and quality healthcare that's accessible to everyone, Taiwan offers women who live there a healthy lifestyle and the best of care.
Taiwan's national health insurance, funded by payroll premiums, provides universal health care. Covered services include primary care, specialty care, hospital stays and mental health care. Out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments for clinic visits and hospital stays and the cost of prescription drugs. The quality of healthcare in Taiwan paired with high scores for women's individual health helped Taiwan become one of the world's best countries for women's health.
Residents in Taiwan for longer than six months are required to join the national health insurance program. Before then, private insurance opens access to affordable care.
Coming in second with a score of 69 is Latvia, a developed country in the Balkans region of northern Europe that's a member of NATO and the European Union. With the country’s excellent preventative medicine and screening for high-risk conditions, women in Latvia enjoy an average life expectancy of 80.
Latvia has a universal healthcare system that's funded by taxes. You’ll need insurance to cover co-pays. Because foreign residents can only see a general practitioner for free twice a year, private insurance is a smart healthcare purchase.
Austrian women live to be 84 on average, and the quality and affordability of women's healthcare in Austria are among the best in Europe. Austria has a public healthcare system but women moving there should also have insurance to handle out-of-pocket costs for care at clinics and hospitals. Anyone living in Austria for more than six months will be covered by national health insurance, so international insurance is a necessity when first moving there.
With an average women's life expectancy of 83, Denmark scores highly for the quality and availability of care. Since Denmark's national healthcare system covers a full range of reproductive health care, including infertility treatments, some women consider moving to the country to start their families.
Foreign residents in Denmark must apply for health coverage through the Danish Civil Registration System. If you’re in the country longer than three months, you’ll need to apply for a residence permit. Free health insurance is granted only after those applications have been approved, months into living there.
Like the other top countries in women's healthcare, Estonia also has socialized medicine. The lifespan of women in Estonia is 83, a testament to the preventive care there. The country has liberal abortion laws that focus on the life of mothers and covers infertility treatments, including IVF. Expatriates working in Estonia have access to free health care as long as they are paying taxes.
In Estonia and other European Union countries, residents 15 years and older can apply for a European Union Health Insurance Card. These are issued by the EU country of residence. The European Health Insurance Card makes no-cost and low-cost care accessible in any member country.
Other Leaders in International Women’s Healthcare
While the five countries above are the best overall, other countries ranked highly in specific categories.
For example, Cyprus has the best female-specific cancer outcomes in the world, and the United States and South Korea often vie for the most advanced hospitals and research, as noted in the International Journal of Women's Health.
The U.S., for instance, has the highest ranked hospital in the world for obstetrics and gynecology. Newsweek ranks Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, as the best in these specialties. University Hospital in London and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, take second and third in the magazine's global list.
Access to and paying for advanced healthcare are obstacles for some in the U.S., though, prompting medical tourism and, for some, moving overseas.
Factors in Global Women's Health
The state of international women's healthcare includes care through all stages of life, from reproductive health care to cancer screenings and elder care. Around the world, female travelers and expats may need medical care for a number of conditions.
Gynecological care, including annual check-ups, pap smears, mammography, reproductive health care, fertility treatment and abortion services, are essential to a woman's health throughout her life. These all are taken into account when world healthcare rankings for women are calculated.
Prenatal and postnatal care improves mothers' health while giving babies the best start in life. Obstetric care including ultrasound, amniocentesis and surgical care should be available. Birthing classes, lactation support and neonatal care give mothers and babies the best outcomes.
Women need access to screening and treatment options for breast cancer, gynecological cancers and conditions including lung cancer and skin cancer. Female-specific cancers are figured into Hologic’s women's healthcare index.
Women who retire overseas should check on the availability of gerontologists and elder care. Having care later in life can extend the quantity and quality of years.
Anyone planning to live overseas should consider access to care as a factor in choosing a new home. How close is the nearest clinic? Is there a hospital nearby in case of an emergency? What is the quality of care available? These questions and more are vital in planning a successful move.
An important part of access to healthcare is its cost. You may have co-pays even in countries that have a single-payer healthcare system. Having global health insurance that will cover the costs of needed care is essential when planning to relocate overseas. You'll want a policy that covers the healthcare needed in your stage of life plus unexpected accidents, illnesses or injuries.
Feel Well Cared-For Wherever You Go
The dream of living abroad could turn into a nightmare if needed medical care overseas is subpar, inaccessible or financially out of reach. Every woman deserves the best pre- and post-natal care, reproductive healthcare and detection and treatment of conditions ranging from cancer to diabetes.
Find the Best International Medical Insurance
- Compare multiple quotes and coverage options
- Work with an insurance expert at no additional cost
- Find the best plan for your needs and budget
Health and healthcare are huge factors in quality of life, so women traveling or living abroad should explore healthcare options in other countries before leaving home. While health can depend on factors including age, lifestyle and genetics, having access to preventive care and treatment for illnesses and injuries is essential to enjoying a healthy life in any country.
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