The Most Popular Cosmetic Procedures By Country

Have you found yourself wondering what the most popular cosmetic procedure is globally? Or found yourself wondering what the most popular cosmetic procedure is in other countries and how it differs? Well, you aren’t alone! More and more of us find ourselves wondering about cosmetic procedures. Whether it’s to have one ourselves or learn more about the industry, we find ourselves asking questions and wondering if it’s an industry we want to be a part of or benefit from. The answer to this question is different for everyone, but one thing is certain: plastic surgery procedures are becoming increasingly popular around the world. In fact, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), there were more than 24 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in 2018 alone. So today, to help you learn more about it, we have the information you need! Keep reading to find out what the most popular cosmetic surgery is and how this differs from country to country!

Ranking By Country 

Let’s look at the number of cosmetic procedures undertaken in each country before looking at the most popular procedures! The following numbers are yearly amounts of procedures undertaken in each country. The research is conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) who conducts annual Global Aesthetic Surveys; you can find out more about them and the surveys here. But for now, let’s take a look at those stats!

1. 1. USA – 17.9% (4,217,862 procedures)

1. 1. Brazil – 10.7% (2,524,115 procedures)

1. 1. Japan – 4.8% (1,137,976 procedures)

1. 1. Italy – 4.1% (957,814 procedures)

1. 1. Mexico – 3.9% (923,243 procedures)

1. 1. Russia – 3.8% (896,629 procedures)

1. 1. India – 3.7% (878,180 procedures)

1. 1. Turkey 0 3.3% (789,564 procedures)

1. 1. Germany – 3.1% (730, 437 procedures)

1. 1. France – 2.2% (517,731 procedures)

1. 1. Colombia 0 2.1% (505,161 procedures)

1. 1. Spain – 2% (473,074 procedures)

1. 1. Chinese Taipei – 1.6% (387,815 procedures)

1. 1. Egypt – 1.6% (376,348 procedures)

1. 1. Greece – 1.2% (287,918 procedures)

1. 1. Argentina – 1.3% (272,420 procedures)

1. 1. Venezuela – 1% (244,552 procedures)

1. 1. Australia – 1% (225,002 procedures)

1. 1. Belgium – 0.8% (195,665 procedures)

1. 1. Iran – 0.6% (151,439 procedures)

1. 1. Thailand – 0.5% (112,821 procedures)

1. 1. Lebanon – 0.3% (79,769 procedures)

1. 1. Romania – 0.3% (76,911 procedures)

1. 1. South Africa – 0.2% (45,413 procedures)

As you can see, the United States tops the leaderboard, performing almost double the procedures as Brazil! The numbers for the top three countries are quite high, but they do drop considerably, especially by the time we get to the bottom of the list! Now that we have covered which country performs the most cosmetic procedures each year let’s look at the most popular procedure globally and in each country.

The World’s Most Popular Cosmetic Procedures 

The research has been done, and it shows that Breast Augmentation is still the most popular plastic surgery procedure across the world! 15.8% of all surgical procedures are breast augmentations; that’s a lot of procedures! Followed by that is liposuction, making up 14% of all surgeries, double eyelid surgery coming in at 12.9%, rhinoplasty at 7.6%, and abdominoplasty at 7.4%. These numbers show us where most people are making changes to their bodies, and it seems to be their face and upper body. So what about the least popular cosmetic procedure? Well, currently, that is penile enlargement, which saw a decrease of around -28% too! These numbers are set to change each year, so be sure to check back for the ISAPS survey. It’s a handy way to see what the most popular procedures are and where they are popular. It’s a useful way to understand what areas people are looking to change and/or improve, and if connections can be drawn from the procedure and the culture of the country. Globally, Botox Injectables remain the most popular nonsurgical procedure, racking up 4,627,752 procedures! That is a 7% increase in the last 12 months, too! Another interesting statistic to take away from the survey is that women made up most patients undergoing cosmetic procedures. They made up 86.2% (20,362,655) of the procedures worldwide! The five most popular procedures they requested were breast augmentation (silicone implant), liposuction, eyelid surgery, abdominoplasty, and breast lift. That’s a lot of women undergoing a lot of cosmetic surgery procedures every year! Men made up 13.8% of the procedures, with 3,264,254 procedures performed worldwide. And there is a difference between the surgeries they had, too. Men’s most popular procedure requests were eyelid surgery, gynecomastia, rhinoplasty, liposuction, and hair transplant. There are some differences there compared to the most popular surgeries for women! Now that we have covered the most popular cosmetic procedures, let’s break them down country by country. We have the following lists of the five top countries (and their numbers) performing the most popular cosmetic procedures. Again, these results were taken from the ISAPS surveys, and you can read more about them and other surveys that were undertaken here.

Top Five Countries Performing Breast Augmentation

1. 1. USA – 586,676

1. 1. Brazil – 434,775

1. 1. Russia – 134,214

1. 1. Mexico – 110,344

1. 1. Germany – 102, 113

Top Five Countries Performing Body And Extremities Procedures 

1. 1. Brazil – 501,490

1. 1. USA – 483,054

1. 1. Mexico – 167,746

1. 1. India – 135,880

1. 1. Colombia – 103,821

Top Five Countries Performing Facial Rejuvenation 

1. 1. USA – 526,020

1. 1. Japan – 310, 054

1. 1. India – 201,020

1. 1. Brazil – 155,650

1. 1. Mexico – 86,471

As we can see, the USA fights for the top spot in most of these categories and is performing a lot of procedures each year in the most popular categories. But what about non-surgical procedures? Well, we asked what the most popular was and got some interesting results! According to 100 surgeons, doctors, nurses, dermatologists, dentists, and practice managers in the UK, Botox is the most popular. Out of twenty-two treatments, Botox was cited by 90% of those asked as the most popular, closely followed by dermal fillers, coming in at 86%. That’s a lot of people having fillers and Botulinum toxin injected into their faces! Chemical peels were listed among the most popular, too, with 42% of those asked citing them as popular with female patients. Laser hair removal (36%), teeth whitening (33%), and non-surgical facelifts (31%) were also included as some of the most popular procedures. We can see from these numbers that a lot of invasive procedures are undertaken on women’s faces, looking to make changes to their appearance or enhance their natural beauty.

Final Word 

And just like that, we have come to the end of our cosmetic procedure journey today! As you can see, breast augmentation was the most popular surgery globally and the United States’ most popular procedure too! While women seem to dominate the market and are requesting the most procedures, men, too, are looking at surgery to make changes to their appearance. One thing is clear from these results, cosmetic procedures are popular across the world and look set to be part of our lives and medical care for many years to come (should you choose to opt for a procedure).