TAIWAN - The Healthiest Country In The World

 Key takeaways

The healthiest countries in the world have access to great healthcare, solid government investment and a focus on prevention.

Top countries are high in favour of plant-based or traditional diets and regular physical activity, and low in obesity rates, this makes diet and lifestyle a major factor.

Public health policies and culturally appropriate healthy behaviours across the lifespan are key to long-term health success.

Globally, the healthiest countries are laying the groundwork for active and balanced lifestyles, and encouraging populations to begin cultivating activities that will benefit their long-term health.

So what is special about these places? Let's look at why these countries keep coming up as the top ones using one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date rankings, the CEOWorld Global Health Index 2025. The index rates the performance of 197 countries on 10 indicators of health: life expectancy in healthy years, blood pressure, blood glucose, obesity, depression, happiness, alcohol consumption, tobacco consumption, physical inactivity and government spending on healthcare.

WORLD'S MOST HEALTHY COUNTRY:

Taiwan was ranked #1 on the CEOWorld Global Health Index 2025 with a score of 97.59, and is the healthiest country in the world, primarily due to its extremely effective health care system, its relatively healthy population, and robust investment in public health by the government.

The success of Taiwan's health care is rooted in its National Health Insurance (NHI) system, which is a single-payer health care system that covers almost all of its citizens and legal residents. It is highly efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly, with all medical records being stored digitally to enable prompt, seamless care between providers. In 2023, Taiwan enacted the Nutrition and Healthy Diet Promotion Act, solidifying the promotion of healthy eating in the country's policy.

One of the main reasons for Taiwan's No. 1 ranking is its dietary pattern. Research points to an eating style that's common in Taiwan called the Taiwanese Eating Approach (TEA): consuming more plant-based foods like vegetables, aquatic foods, soy products, and green tea, while avoiding too much fast food, processed meats, and fried foods. This method has been consistently associated with reduced cardiovascular disease, obesity and metabolic conditions among all age groups.

In 2017, more than 20% of Taiwan's citizens were aged 65 and above, making this a challenge to deal with; therefore, a network of Community Nutrition Promotion Centres was established throughout all counties in 2017. These centres offer nutrition advice, exercise assistance and health checks for seniors.