Singapore Stopped Chasing Medical Tourists. These 10 Countries Still Send Them
The patient arrives with scans.
Not shopping bags.
Not a list of beauty treatments.
Scans.
The family has already seen doctors at home.
The answer was not clear.
Or the surgery was too hard.
Or the treatment did not exist.
So they came to Singapore.
They may need cancer care.
Brain surgery.
Heart treatment.
A transplant.
A difficult test.
This is what medical tourism now looks like in Singapore.
It is not a huge crowd of patients buying cheap care.
Singapore is not cheap.
It does not want to be.
The country once dreamed of treating 1 million foreign patients a year. It launched a national program called SingaporeMedicine in 2003 to help reach that goal.
Then it changed direction.
Singapore stopped reporting medical-tourism numbers after 2015. Its government said bringing in more foreign patients could place too much pressure on hospital beds, doctors and nurses needed by local people. Medical tourism is no longer part of Singapore’s main tourism plan.
Yet foreign patients still come.
They come in smaller numbers.
They bring harder cases.
And most come from nearby Asian countries.
Singapore’s Top 10 Medical Tourism Source Countries
| Rank | Country |
|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia |
| 2 | Malaysia |
| 3 | China |
| 4 | Vietnam |
| 5 | Bangladesh |
| 6 | India |
| 7 | Philippines |
| 8 | Myanmar |
| 9 | Cambodia |
| 10 | United States |
This is a best estimate.
It is not an official 2025 or 2026 ranking.
Singapore has not published a full national table of medical tourists by nationality for more than a decade.
The last widely cited market-share data placed Indonesia first with about 64 percent of foreign patients. Malaysia had about 7 percent. The United States had 5 percent. Vietnam ranked fourth with about 2 percent. Newer industry research says China may now be the third-largest market.
Hospital activity gives us more clues.
Mount Elizabeth and Gleneagles say they serve patients from more than 120 countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh. Raffles Hospital has patient offices or services aimed at Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Russia.
The exact order below Indonesia is open to debate.
The first place is not.
1. Indonesia
Indonesia has been Singapore’s largest medical tourism market for decades.
At one point, Indonesians made up almost two-thirds of Singapore’s foreign patients.
Earlier estimates placed the share even higher.
This patient road was built before medical tourism became a popular business term.
The reason is not hard to see.
Indonesia is close.
Flights from Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya are short.
Many wealthy Indonesian families already visit Singapore for shopping, school, work and banking.
The country feels familiar.
The hospitals feel trusted.
A patient may fly to Singapore because a doctor at home found something worrying.
The family wants another answer.
They want the scan checked again.
They want a doctor whose name they already know.
They may not be looking for the lowest price.
They may be looking for certainty.
Indonesia built Singapore’s private hospital market
Large private hospitals have spent years building systems for Indonesian patients.
Raffles Hospital has representative or patient liaison offices in Jakarta, Surabaya, Solo, Semarang, Denpasar and Bandung.
These offices help patients send medical records, book appointments and arrange travel before leaving Indonesia.
The patient does not need to begin with a strange number in another country.
They can speak to someone nearby.
They can ask questions in Bahasa Indonesia.
They can send scans through a local office.
That lowers fear.
It also gives the hospital a steady patient pipeline.
These are often serious cases
Indonesian patients travel to Singapore for cancer treatment, heart care, brain surgery, organ transplants, fertility care and hard diagnoses.
The new Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine has said most of its foreign proton-therapy patients come from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam and India.
These patients often have brain, liver, prostate, head and neck, or spine-related cancers. Treatment can involve 30 to 35 sessions and a stay of up to two months.
That is not a medical holiday.
The family may rent an apartment.
A parent may stop working.
Children may miss school.
The patient may visit the hospital every weekday for more than a month.
The true product is not tourism.
It is access to care the family believes is worth leaving home for.
Singapore is losing some Indonesian patients
Singapore once had fewer serious rivals.
Now it has many.
Malaysia offers good private hospitals at a lower price.
Penang and Kuala Lumpur have built large Indonesian patient networks.
Thailand offers advanced hospitals, tourism services and lower costs.
Indonesia is also trying to keep more patients at home.
Its government has backed new hospitals and specialist centers, including Bali International Hospital, with the clear goal of reducing the number of Indonesians leaving the country for care.
Singapore cannot win by saying, “We are nearby.”
Malaysia is nearby too.
It cannot win by saying, “We are affordable.”
Malaysia and Thailand are cheaper.
It must win the case that other hospitals cannot handle.
That is now the plan.
2. Malaysia
Malaysia may seem like an odd source of medical tourists for Singapore.
Malaysia has its own strong private hospitals.
It receives more than a million healthcare travelers in a good year.
It is also cheaper.
Still, Malaysian patients cross into Singapore for care.
Some enter by car or bus from Johor.
Others fly from Kuala Lumpur, Penang or East Malaysia.
The trip may be shorter than traveling to another major Malaysian city.
Older market data placed Malaysia second among Singapore’s medical-patient sources, with about 7 percent of the market. Current specialist centers also continue to report Malaysian patients among their main foreign groups.
Malaysians do not come for the low price
A patient from Malaysia can usually find a cheaper hospital at home.
They come to Singapore for another reason.
A named cancer doctor.
A difficult brain operation.
A rare test.
A treatment that is new or limited in Malaysia.
A second opinion after the first plan did not work.
The difference is important.
Singapore is not taking the whole Malaysian medical market.
It is taking the hardest edge of it.
Johor has changed the route
Singapore’s old advantage is now moving in both directions.
Private hospitals in Johor are attracting more Singapore residents who cross the border for health checks, dental care and planned treatment.
One study found that Indonesian patients made up most of Johor’s foreign-patient market, but Singaporeans were also an important group.
This creates a strange two-way road.
A Singapore patient travels to Malaysia because it is cheaper.
A Malaysian patient travels to Singapore because the case is harder.
The border does not create one healthcare market.
It creates two.
3. China
China is likely now Singapore’s third-largest medical source market.
The country did not rank this high in older data.
That appears to have changed.
Singapore Medical Group said that many of its foreign patients now come from China, India and Southeast Asia. Recent banking research also says China may have replaced the United States in third place.
China sent 3.1 million general visitors to Singapore in 2025, making it the country’s largest tourism market.
Most were not medical tourists.
But large travel volume makes a medical route easier to build.
There are direct flights.
Chinese-speaking staff are common.
Patients already know Singapore as a safe and well-run city.
China does not need Singapore for basic care
China has large hospitals.
It has skilled doctors.
It has modern private clinics.
A Chinese patient is unlikely to fly to Singapore for a simple blood test.
The trip must offer something harder to find.
Cancer treatment.
A complex children’s case.
Fertility care.
Advanced imaging.
A second opinion.
A doctor trained in a narrow field.
Some wealthy Chinese families also use Singapore as part of a wider life plan.
Their children may study there.
They may own a business or home there.
They may already keep money in Singapore.
Healthcare becomes one more service inside a trusted system.
Singapore competes on rules
Thailand may offer a larger hospital.
Malaysia may offer a lower price.
South Korea may offer a stronger beauty brand.
Singapore sells strict rules.
Clear systems.
English and Mandarin service.
A belief that the hospital will not take wild risks.
That matters in a difficult case.
It matters even more when a family has already lost trust in earlier treatment.
4. Vietnam
Vietnam has become one of Singapore’s most important growth markets.
Older data placed it fourth, though it made up only about 2 percent of foreign patients at the time.
Industry analysts believe the share has grown.
IHH Healthcare, which operates Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles and Parkway hospitals, has said it receives many Vietnamese patients in its Singapore operations.
Private hospitals also list Vietnam among their main international markets and maintain patient support networks there.
Vietnam is growing, but the gap remains
Vietnam has invested heavily in private hospitals.
It now has more international hospital brands, better cancer centers and stronger specialist care.
That means fewer patients need to leave for routine treatment.
But a gap remains at the top.
A wealthy Vietnamese family may choose Singapore when a child needs complex surgery.
When cancer treatment is not working.
When the family wants proton therapy.
When a doctor recommends a specialist who is not available in Vietnam.
Singapore’s task is not to replace Vietnamese hospitals.
It is to stand above them for the rare case.
The patient road starts before the flight
Vietnamese patients often send records before traveling.
The hospital reviews scans.
A coordinator helps choose a doctor.
The family receives an early cost estimate.
Only then do they book the flight.
This is important because Singapore is expensive.
A patient cannot easily arrive and “see what happens.”
The family wants to know there is a real reason to go.
5. Bangladesh
Bangladesh sends far more medical travelers to India than to Singapore.
India is closer.
It is cheaper.
Many Indian hospitals speak Bengali and have served Bangladeshi families for years.
Singapore still attracts part of the market.
It tends to be the richer and more complex part.
Raffles Hospital maintains direct services and patient liaison offices in Dhaka to help Bangladeshi patients plan treatment in Singapore.
Mount Elizabeth and Gleneagles also list Bangladesh among the countries they regularly serve.
Singapore is the second or third opinion
A Bangladeshi patient may first see a doctor at home.
Then a hospital in India.
Singapore may come next.
The family wants another opinion before a major operation.
Or the treatment in India did not work.
Or a doctor recommends a Singapore specialist.
These patients may need cancer care, heart surgery, brain treatment, kidney care or care for a sick child.
The trip can cost far more than India.
That limits the market to families with money, insurance, company support or help from relatives.
Bangladesh shows Singapore’s new position
Singapore is not always the first foreign destination.
It may be the place a patient goes when the easier option fails.
That sounds like a smaller market.
It is.
But the cases can be far more valuable.
One complex case may require several specialists, weeks in hospital and months of follow-up.
Singapore has chosen value over volume, even when it did not say so directly.
6. India
India is another strange source market.
It is one of the world’s largest medical tourism destinations.
It offers advanced care at prices well below Singapore.
Why would an Indian patient travel the other way?
Because not every patient buys on price.
India sent 1.2 million general visitors to Singapore in 2025, making it one of the city’s five biggest tourism markets. Singapore Medical Group also lists India among the main origins of its foreign patients.
Some patients are wealthy business owners.
Some already have children or relatives in Singapore.
Some are working or living elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Some want a doctor with a narrow field of skill.
Others want privacy.
India sends special cases, not mass cases
An Indian patient is unlikely to choose Singapore for a standard knee operation that can be done well for less money at home.
The trip makes more sense for:
- A rare cancer
- Proton therapy
- A hard neurological case
- A second opinion
- Fertility treatment
- A treatment linked to research or a new drug
- A doctor the family knows by name
India is therefore unlikely to become one of Singapore’s biggest markets by patient count.
It can still be important by revenue.
7. Philippines
The Philippines has good private hospitals.
It also has a large population and wide gaps in specialist care.
Patients with enough money may travel to Singapore when they need a treatment that is not easy to obtain at home.
Mount Elizabeth and Gleneagles list the Philippines among their regular international patient markets.
The route has several advantages.
Flights are short.
English is widely spoken in both countries.
Filipino patients can speak directly with doctors and nurses without depending on a translator.
That matters when the case is complex.
English removes one fear
Medical travel can feel dangerous when a patient cannot understand the doctor.
A small translation error can change the meaning of a treatment plan.
For Filipino patients, Singapore removes much of that risk.
Records can be read in English.
Consent forms can be understood.
Family members can ask direct questions.
The patient may still be afraid of the operation.
They do not also need to be afraid of the language.
The main problem is cost.
Thailand and Malaysia can offer strong care for less.
Singapore must prove that its doctor or treatment is worth the extra money.
8. Myanmar
Myanmar has sent patients to Singapore for years.
Many come for serious treatment.
Cancer.
Heart care.
Brain surgery.
Children’s medicine.
Tests that are difficult to obtain at home.
Raffles Hospital maintains Myanmar patient services and offers interpreters for Myanmar-speaking patients.
Political conflict and pressure on Myanmar’s health system have made foreign treatment more important for families who can afford it.
But the same crisis can make travel harder.
Flights, payment systems and documents may become more difficult.
Families may have trouble moving money.
Treatment may be delayed until the patient is much sicker.
Thailand usually wins on access
Thailand is the natural first foreign hospital market for Myanmar.
It shares a border.
Travel can be cheaper.
Thai hospitals have large Myanmar-speaking teams.
Singapore enters when the case is harder or when the family wants a different level of specialist care.
That puts Myanmar lower on Singapore’s list than on Thailand’s.
The patients Singapore receives may still be among the most medically difficult.
9. Cambodia
Cambodia is a small market with a clear need.
The country has improved its private healthcare sector.
Many complex patients still leave.
Thailand is the largest natural destination.
Vietnam also receives Cambodian patients.
Singapore takes a smaller, wealthier group.
Raffles Hospital has a Cambodia representative service to help patients make appointments, arrange travel and receive support during treatment.
Cambodian families may travel for cancer care, heart treatment, complex surgery and pediatric cases.
They are unlikely to choose Singapore for routine care.
The price difference is too large.
Singapore is the premium choice
For a Cambodian patient, Bangkok may be the normal foreign hospital.
Singapore may be the premium hospital.
The family may choose it because a local doctor recommends a specialist.
Because a wealthy friend had a good result there.
Because a case needs equipment that is not available closer to home.
This is a narrow market.
It is also exactly the kind of market Singapore now wants.
10. United States
The United States ranked third in older source-market data, with about 5 percent of Singapore’s foreign patients.
Its present position is unclear.
It may now rank below China and several Asian markets.
The distance is long.
Singapore is not a low-cost option compared with India, Mexico or Thailand.
An American patient needs a strong reason to travel so far.
That reason may be:
- A specialist doctor
- A complex treatment while working in Asia
- A second opinion
- A clinical connection
- A health check added to a business trip
- Family links to Singapore
- Treatment available faster than at home
American patients are unlikely to create huge volume.
They can still bring high-value cases.
Singapore also has a medical system that feels easy for Americans to understand.
English is used.
Hospital standards are strict.
Doctors often have training links with Britain, Australia or the United States.
The city is clean and simple to move through.
The patient is not buying a cheap foreign experience.
They are buying care that feels international.
The Countries Just Outside the Top 10
The bottom of Singapore’s ranking is hard to fix.
Australia is important in some advanced cancer centers. The Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine names Australia among its leading foreign proton-therapy markets.
Russia has an established Raffles Hospital representative service and Russian-language support.
Brunei has a small but wealthy population and a history of sending complex cases abroad.
Laos appears in regional hospital flows but is more likely to choose Thailand or Vietnam.
Middle Eastern countries send individual high-value cases, but Singapore does not have the same Gulf pipeline as Thailand, Germany or the United States.
Australia, Russia or Brunei could replace the United States, Cambodia or Myanmar under a newer hospital dataset.
Singapore simply does not publish enough information to know for sure.
Singapore Once Wanted One Million Patients
The country’s old plan was bold.
SingaporeMedicine was launched in 2003.
The goal was to serve 1 million foreign patients a year by 2012.
The country appeared to be moving quickly.
An official estimate said Singapore received 410,000 medical travelers in 2006.
The figure fell to 348,000 in 2007, but spending rose by about 30 percent to S$1.7 billion.
Then the government became less excited.
Hospital beds were under pressure.
Singaporeans worried that foreign patients might receive better service.
There were fears that private hospitals would pull doctors and nurses away from public care.
The national mood changed.
By 2015, the Tourism Board had stopped publishing medical-tourism totals.
In 2018, public hospitals were ordered to stop working with outside companies that referred foreign patients. Public hospitals were told not to market actively overseas.
Singapore did not close the door.
It stopped holding the door open.
The New Number Is Much Smaller
Between 2019 and 2023, Singapore’s public and private hospitals treated an average of about 18,000 foreign inpatients and day-surgery patients each year.
That represented around 2 percent of all inpatient and day-surgery cases.
Eighteen thousand is far below the old estimates of hundreds of thousands.
The two numbers may not measure the same thing.
The newer figure covers hospital admissions and day surgery.
It may not include:
- Outpatient specialist visits
- Cancer treatments without admission
- Health checks
- Fertility appointments
- Dental care
- Skin clinics
- Imaging
- Telemedicine
- Repeat clinic visits
Private providers also told CNA that medical travelers may still form 20 to 30 percent of their patient mix.
Raffles Hospital says more than 35 percent of its patients are foreign nationals, though that figure may also include foreign residents rather than only fly-in medical tourists.
The old number may have been too broad.
The new number may be too narrow.
The truth is likely somewhere between them.
Singapore Does Not Want the Easy Patient
A patient who wants a basic health check can go to Malaysia.
A patient who wants cheaper cosmetic surgery can go to Thailand.
A patient who wants dental implants can find lower prices across Asia.
Singapore cannot and does not need to win those cases.
The country now focuses on what the region cannot easily copy.
Private hospitals say foreign patients are increasingly coming for:
- Neurosurgery
- Spine surgery
- Complex heart care
- Critical care
- Proton cancer treatment
- Organ and stem-cell transplants
- Precision medicine
- Difficult fertility treatment
- Advanced eye surgery
- Complex orthopedic procedures
These patients are fewer.
They stay longer.
They spend more.
They need several doctors.
The hospital does not need a million of them.
Proton Therapy Shows the New Model
Proton therapy is a newer form of radiation treatment.
It can target some cancers while sending less radiation into nearby healthy tissue.
It is also expensive.
Singapore now has several proton-therapy providers.
Foreign patients make up about half of proton patients at IHH Healthcare.
They make up around 40 percent at the Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine.
This is the exact patient Singapore wants.
The treatment is hard to find.
The equipment is costly.
The patient needs many sessions.
The family may remain in Singapore for six to eight weeks.
A country such as Indonesia, Vietnam or Malaysia may have good cancer doctors.
It may not have the same machine, treatment slot or specialist team.
That creates a reason to travel.
Not a vague promise of “world-class healthcare.”
A real reason.
Singapore’s Price Problem Is Severe
Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in Asia.
The Singapore dollar is strong.
Hospital care is expensive.
Hotels are expensive.
Food and transport can add to the bill.
Industry analysts say some treatments in Malaysia and Thailand cost only one-third of the Singapore price.
This pushes out the simple cases.
A patient may trust Singapore.
They may still choose Kuala Lumpur when the price is three times lower.
Singapore has also become a source of medical tourists for Malaysia.
Residents cross into Johor for health checks, dental treatment and other private care.
One Singapore patient interviewed by CNA paid about S$510 for a full health check in Johor.
The medical road runs both ways.
Money moves toward the cheaper system.
Hard cases move toward the stronger specialist center.
The Strong Dollar Changed the Patient
Singapore’s foreign-patient revenue recovered after the pandemic, but patient numbers did not return in the same way.
DBS estimated that listed Singapore hospital companies earned about US$375 million from foreign patients in 2023.
Foreign patients accounted for about 22 percent of their revenue.
That was only slightly above 2019 levels.
IHH said foreign patients formed around 15 percent of its Singapore patient base in 2023, down from about 20 percent before the pandemic.
Yet the remaining cases were more complex and involved longer stays.
Singapore lost the checkup patient.
It kept the cancer patient.
That may be better business.
It may also be better use of limited hospital space.
Public Hospitals Put Singaporeans First
Singapore’s public hospitals treat foreign patients.
They do not receive the same subsidies as citizens.
Foreign patients may pay more than local private patients for some public hospital services.
The government is clear about the order of priority.
Public hospitals exist to serve Singaporeans first.
They cannot run overseas marketing campaigns.
They cannot use referral agents to fill public hospital beds with medical tourists.
Foreign patients can still contact a hospital on their own.
A doctor abroad can recommend treatment.
A difficult case can still be accepted.
But Singapore does not want public hospitals acting like tourist businesses.
This makes Singapore different from countries where governments openly advertise hospital packages abroad.
Private Hospitals Still Want the Business
The government stepped back.
Private hospitals did not.
Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles and Raffles still have international patient centers.
They help with:
- Doctor appointments
- Medical-record reviews
- Interpreters
- Visa extensions
- Airport transfers
- Hotels
- Medical evacuation
- Repatriation
- Food and religious needs
That is medical tourism infrastructure.
It may no longer appear in a national tourism campaign.
It still exists inside the hospital.
Private hospitals need foreign patients, especially for expensive equipment and rare treatments.
A proton machine cannot sit empty.
A specialist team needs enough difficult cases to keep its skill.
Foreign patients help create that volume.
Singapore Is Really Running Three Medical Tourism Businesses
The patient map becomes clearer when it is divided into three roads.
The Indonesia road
This is the old foundation.
It brings the largest number of patients.
Some come for second opinions.
Others need cancer care, heart treatment, surgery or transplants.
Singapore is losing basic Indonesian cases to Malaysia and Indonesian hospitals.
It still wins many of the hardest ones.
The regional specialist road
This includes Malaysia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia.
These patients usually come because a treatment, doctor or technology is not easy to obtain at home.
They do not choose Singapore because it is cheap.
They choose it because the case is difficult.
The global high-value road
This includes China, India, the United States, Australia, Russia and wealthy patients from other countries.
The numbers are smaller.
The patients may already have business, family or education links to Singapore.
They come for a named specialist, an advanced treatment or a second opinion.
Singapore needs all three roads.
Indonesia gives history and volume.
Southeast Asia gives medical need.
Global markets give high-value cases.
Singapore Is Not Competing With Thailand Anymore
Thailand wants millions of foreign patients.
It sells hospitals, wellness, cosmetic care and holidays.
Malaysia wants large regional volume.
It sells lower prices, Muslim-friendly services and strong Indonesian patient routes.
South Korea wants beauty travelers.
It sells skin treatment and cosmetic technology.
Singapore has moved away from all three models.
It does not want the most patients.
It wants the patient with nowhere else to go.
That sounds harsh.
It is also a clear position.
Singapore has limited land.
Limited beds.
Limited doctors.
It cannot win a numbers war against much larger countries.
It can win a difficulty war.
The Data Problem Has Become Part of the Story
Singapore’s old medical-tourism data was never perfect.
The government itself questioned the survey method after the reported number of medical travelers fell in 2007 even though hospitals recorded more admissions and patient days.
Today, the problem is the opposite.
There is almost no national data.
One source counts foreign inpatients.
Another counts hospital revenue.
A private hospital may count foreign passports.
A clinic may count only people who live abroad.
A patient may visit five times during one trip.
An expatriate may be called an international patient even though they have lived in Singapore for years.
This is why Singapore can appear to have 18,000 medical patients in one report and a foreign-patient business worth hundreds of millions of dollars in another.
The country has a medical tourism market.
It does not have a clear public scoreboard.
What Singapore’s Patient Map Tells Us
Singapore once tried to build a medical tourism machine.
It wanted 1 million patients.
It promoted hospitals overseas.
It counted visitors and their spending.
Then the country looked at its limited beds and doctors.
It changed its mind.
The new Singapore model is smaller.
Quieter.
More expensive.
An Indonesian family comes because the cancer is hard.
A Vietnamese parent comes because a child needs surgery.
A Bangladeshi patient comes for one more opinion.
A Malaysian crosses the border because one doctor in Singapore understands the case.
There may be no beach package.
No cheap smile.
No viral before-and-after video.
Just a hospital.
A difficult problem.
And the belief that Singapore may know what to do next.
That is not mass medical tourism.
It may be the most valuable kind.
