World Cesarean Rates: OECD Countries, 2009

By Jill Arnold

OECD Health Data 2011 offers the most comprehensive source of comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD countries.

The following are 2009 data. View 2004 -2008 data for OECD countries.

 

Surgical procedures by ICD-9-CM, Caesarean section, 2009
	CS Rate
Australia	—
Austria	28.6%
Belgium	—
Canada	—
Chile	—
Czech Republic	21.2%
Denmark	20.6%
Estonia	20.7%
Finland	15.7%
France	20.0%
Germany	30.3%
Greece	—
Hungary	32.5%
Iceland	15.8%
Ireland	26.0%
Israel	18.8%
Italy	38.4%
Japan	—
Korea	35.1%
Luxembourg	29.7%
Mexico	42.0%
Netherlands	—
New Zealand	24.0%
Norway	—
Poland	22.8%
Portugal	33.0%
Slovak Republic	27.0%
Slovenia	17.8%
Spain	24.9%
Sweden	17.1%
Switzerland	32.4%
Turkey	42.7%
United Kingdom	23.7%
United States	—
Source: OECD Health Data 2011
http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_PR

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Comments

[Aron]

That is really fascinating! I wish there was a table comparing that data against maternal/neonatal mortality rates also. I know it wouldn't be entirely correlated, but I'd still like to see it.

[Jessi]

I'd love to see the middle eastern and south asian countries included too. As they move away from midwife and home births to medicalized/hospital births (where some women are not allowed ANYONE to be with her during birth), I suspect (and hear anecdotally) cesarean rates are skyrocketing.

[Rebecca (Public Health Doula)]

Fun fact: in Sweden ALL medical care to do with having a baby (prenatal care, birth, postpartum, ALL of it) is completely free. Yes, they have universal health care but it does include co-pays...but not for baby-havin'. (Yes, it's pronatalist...but it's also great!)

[Suzan]

I have family in Turkey, and this makes me sad for them. :( Anyone know why it has skyrocketed there?