Many Prefer Alternative to Conventional Medicine

Views around medicine differ greatly around the world. As data from Statista’s Consumer Insights shows, around a quarter of urban respondents in India (28 percent) and the Philippines (26 percent) as well as Switzerland, South Africa and China (24 percent each) would opt for alternative healing methods over conventional medicine. In general, Asian countries - many with well-known schools of traditional healing - are more open to the sector. This also includes Pakistan, Thailand (22 percent each) and Singapore (20 percent), but excludes South Korea and Japan, where very few said they liked alternative healing methods. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia also score high, at 24 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

In Finland, for example, alternative forms of medicine are far less popular, with only 9 percent of Finns saying they would pick them if they had the choice. Approval was also quite low in the United Kingdom (14 percent) and Italy (12 percent).

In the United States, 21 percent of respondents said they preferred alternative over conventional medicine, slightly higher than results in most European and anglophone nations.

Alternative medicines include, but are not limited to, practices such as massages, acupuncture, herbal medicines and Traditional Chinese Medicine.