Data shows that South Korean households' medical expenses are declining but remain much higher than the average for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD).

According to the Health and Welfare Ministry's analysis of the 2018 OECD health statistics on Friday, households' expenditures accounted for 33-point-three percent of South Korea's total medical expenses in 2016.

The figure dropped from 34-point-six percent five years earlier, but is one-point-six times larger than the OECD average of 20-point-three percent. 

It was the fourth-highest number among OECD member nations. Latvia had the highest number of 45 percent, while France boasted the lowest at nine-point-eight percent.