From Tehran to Taipei and Beirut to Brazil, the $20 billion global cosmetic surgery industry is quite literally changing the way the world looks.
While the top five countries in the ranking- America, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Mexico, are responsible for almost half of all identified surgeries globally, this doesn’t necessarily mean that surgery is most widespread in these nations. The United States, for instance, has the greatest number of procedures overall at 4.2 million but this amounts to thirteen people per thousand, which is significantly less than other cosmetic surgery hotspots around the world.
In South Korea about twenty people per thousand are having a procedure in the country, by far the highest proportion on earth. With Taiwan and Belgium not far behind with seventeen people per thousand, which is followed by Lebanon and Italy at a rate of sixteen. Colombia and Brazil are currently on a rate of around twelve per thousand- a remarkably high number given their relatively large populations and the fact that millions of people in both countries live below the poverty line. Emerging cosmetic surgery hubs include India, Thailand and Turkey, however, it’s worth noting regulation is lacking, making for botched jobs
According to intelligence provider Research and Markets, the global cosmetic surgery market is currently worth over $20 billion and is set to rise to over $27 billion by 2019.
Whatever their motivations are, it is clear that clients seeking surgery in newer hubs across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America are prompting the exploration of new beauty ideals and with them, new cosmetic surgery business fortunes.
South Korea and Taiwan
Seoul wields an unusual degree of soft power over the rest of the continent, and the surgically enhanced look of certain K-Pop stars has had a ripple effect across Asia. As a result, the thousands of plastic surgery clinics in the South Korean capital now dedicate an estimated third of their operations to Chinese and South-East Asian clients. This means big business, with the Korean medical tourism industry currently worth around $500 million annually, with double-eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, accounts for nearly half of all surgical operations in South Korea and Taiwan.
Brazil and Colombia
Brazilians had 2.5 million surgical procedures last year- eleven percent of the total worldwide share and second only to the US. The majority of surgical requests are actually focused on body sculpting: improvement to the breasts, abdomen and buttocks. Colombia, meanwhile, is a country known for its high-quality health service. With figures showing that half a million official cosmetic treatments took place in Colombia last year- it’s claimed that across Latin America, finding a plastic surgeon is as easy as finding a hairdresser.
Women are desperate and will choose the cheapest option because they have bought into these unreal expectations of Latin beauty that are foisted upon them. And in Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil in particular, they believe that the only way to be a valued member of society is to look beautiful.
Lebanon and Iran
Iran is one of the most populated countries in Middle East and it is a relatively rich country. In Iran, they have many patients from neighbours like Iraq, Bahrain, UAE, Azerbaijan and Armenia. With an estimated 12,100 rhinoplasties taking place last year in Iran- even more than in Lebanon.
Until recently, it was Lebanon that was known as the plastic surgery mecca of the Middle East, with surgically enhanced beauty becoming the norm in the bars and restaurants of Beirut and people from all over the Gulf and North Africa flocking to its shores for treatment- even Lebanon's First National Bank even offers loans specifically for cosmetic surgery.
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
* The global cosmetic surgery market is currently worth over $20 billion and is set to rise to over $27 billion by 2019.
* The top five countries in the ranking- America, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Mexico, are responsible for almost half of all identified surgeries globally.
* Lebanon and Iran are well known for Rhinoplasty procedures, there was 12,100 rhinoplasties in Iran last year alone.
* South Korea and Taiwan’s plastic surgery industry is worth $500 million annually.
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