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TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Out of 89 countries surveyed, Taiwan has the best health care system in the world, business magazine CEOWorld concluded in its 2019 Health Care Index.

The list considered the overall quality of health care, including the infrastructure, competencies of staff, cost, availability and government readiness, the magazine said.

Taiwan finished top of the list with 78.72 points out of 100, with Venezuela at the other end scoring 33.42 points.

Other Asian nations in the top 10 included South Korea at No. 2 and Japan at No. 3, with Thailand ranking sixth. Five European nations and Australia filled up the rest of the top 10, according to CEOWorld.

Health officials explained that Taiwan rated higher than South Korea because, in the latter, only half the physicians take part in the health insurance system, while the health sector is also plagued by frequent strikes, the Central News Agency reported.

ranked Singapore at No. 24, Hong Kong ended up at No. 36, two spots below Malaysia but two notches above the Philippines, while China finished at No. 46, sandwiched between Lebanon and Slovenia.