Korea Ranks 1st in Plastic Surgery, South America in Top Tier, India 20th Among Populous Nations... What About China?

US Insider Monkey Selects Top 20 Plastic Surgery Nations
2nd to 4th Are South American Countries, 5th Is Greece

South Korea was ranked as the country with the highest number of plastic surgeries per capita.

On the 21st (local time), the U.S. media outlet 'Insider Monkey' selected and announced the top 20 'beauty plastic surgery powerhouses' based on data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). South Korea ranked first with approximately 8.9 plastic surgeries per 1,000 people. Following were Argentina (8.81), Brazil (7.62), Colombia (7.26), and Greece (6.33), with the 2nd to 4th ranked countries all being South American nations. The United States ranked 6th, while Germany, T?rkiye, Mexico, and Italy were ranked 7th to 10th. Among East Asian countries, Japan was 14th and Taiwan 18th. The populous country India ranked 20th, and China did not appear in the rankings.

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The size of South Korea's cosmetic surgery market reached $10.7 billion (approximately 14.32 trillion KRW) as of 2018. This accounts for about 25% of the global cosmetic surgery market share. About 25% of Korean women aged 19 to 29 have experience with plastic surgery, and it is estimated that 20-33% of women living in Seoul have undergone plastic surgery. The most common plastic surgeries among Koreans were double eyelid surgery and rhinoplasty.

Unlike South Korea, popular plastic surgeries in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia were mainly breast augmentation and liposuction. Brazil was noted for having 8,039 plastic surgeons as of 2019, making it the country with the highest number of plastic surgeons per capita worldwide. Insider Monkey also stated that the impact of medical tourism on the plastic surgery rankings is evident, saying, "South Korea, Brazil, Colombia, and Thailand are known for providing high-quality care at affordable costs."

The media outlet reported that the plastic surgery industry has a significant impact on the South Korean economy, with about 46,300 foreigners visiting South Korea for plastic surgery purposes in 2022. ISAPS revealed that 86.5% of cosmetic surgeries are performed on women, indicating that women are the main customers in this field. Recently, the U.S. economic magazine Fortune reported that the global market size for cosmetic surgery in 2023 is approximately $57.7 billion (about 77.23 trillion KRW). As the expansion of the plastic surgery market is expected to continue, Fortune projected that the global plastic surgery market will grow to $75.2 billion by 2030.