Hospital discharges by diagnostic categories by country
A hospital discharge is the formal release of a patient from a hospital. The list of diagnostic categories is based on the International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation (ISHMT). Click here to see the complete shortlist with ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed...
What the numbers show
Hospital discharges by diagnostic categories is currently reported for 34 countries. The highest value is 38.82 million Discharges in United States; the lowest is 36,470 Discharges in Iceland.
The median across all reporting countries is 1.70 million Discharges, and the mean is 5.22 million Discharges.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 1,064.
Over the past decade 14 countries rose and 20 fell. The largest increase was in Cyprus (up 56.0%), and the largest decrease in Finland (down 26.2%).
Hospital discharges by diagnostic categories: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 38.82 million Discharges | 2010 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 2 | Russia | 33.72 million Discharges | 2006 | up 11.4% | falling |
| 3 | Germany | 18.68 million Discharges | 2024 | down 9.9% | rising |
| 4 | Japan | 16.12 million Discharges | 2023 | up 1.8% | rising |
| 5 | France | 10.71 million Discharges | 2024 | down 1.9% | flat |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 8.55 million Discharges | 2018 | up 4.6% | rising |
| 7 | Italy | 6.04 million Discharges | 2024 | down 17.3% | falling |
| 8 | Spain | 4.98 million Discharges | 2024 | up 5.5% | rising |
| 9 | Mexico | 4.81 million Discharges | 2024 | down 11.9% | rising |
| 10 | Australia | 4.72 million Discharges | 2024 | up 10.9% | rising |
| 11 | Romania | 3.78 million Discharges | 2024 | down 8.0% | falling |
| 12 | Canada | 3.18 million Discharges | 2024 | up 6.4% | falling |
| 13 | Colombia | 2.32 million Discharges | 2024 | down 8.9% | rising |
| 14 | Bulgaria | 2.18 million Discharges | 2023 | down 9.4% | falling |
| 15 | Austria | 1.96 million Discharges | 2024 | down 12.8% | rising |
| 16 | Czechia | 1.76 million Discharges | 2022 | down 16.2% | falling |
| 17 | Belgium | 1.74 million Discharges | 2024 | down 8.3% | flat |
| 18 | Chile | 1.67 million Discharges | 2024 | up 0.4% | flat |
| 19 | Hungary | 1.51 million Discharges | 2024 | down 24.8% | falling |
| 20 | Greece | 1.45 million Discharges | 2023 | down 8.5% | rising |
| 21 | Switzerland | 1.43 million Discharges | 2024 | up 8.4% | rising |
| 22 | Israel | 1.25 million Discharges | 2024 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 23 | Sweden | 1.21 million Discharges | 2024 | down 12.9% | falling |
| 24 | Norway | 804,581 Discharges | 2023 | down 6.4% | rising |
| 25 | Denmark | 762,321 Discharges | 2023 | down 10.5% | falling |
| 26 | New Zealand | 723,581 Discharges | 2023 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 27 | Portugal | 711,672 Discharges | 2023 | down 20.5% | falling |
| 28 | Ireland | 700,600 Discharges | 2024 | up 10.9% | rising |
| 29 | Finland | 693,010 Discharges | 2024 | down 26.2% | falling |
| 30 | Costa Rica | 207,419 Discharges | 2025 | down 22.1% | falling |
| 31 | Cyprus | 108,292 Discharges | 2023 | up 56.0% | rising |
| 32 | Luxembourg | 86,262 Discharges | 2024 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 33 | Malta | 69,748 Discharges | 2023 | down 3.7% | falling |
| 34 | Iceland | 36,470 Discharges | 2024 | down 6.2% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 8.72 million Discharges
- Slovak Republic 897,370 Discharges
- Croatia 607,750 Discharges
About this data
A hospital discharge is the formal release of a patient from a hospital. The list of diagnostic categories is based on the International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation (ISHMT). Click here to see the complete shortlist with ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.