Classification of european union member and candidate countries terms of health indicators through multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis

Abstract

Health indicators enable statistical comparison of the health status of countries or communities. The objective of this study is to investigate the position and classification of Turkey in European Union (EU) member and candidate countries in terms of health indicators. The study data were obtained from World Bank and United Nations Development Programme data sources. The multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis methods were performed to determine the position and classification of the countries. According to the multidimensional scaling findings, it is determined that Turkey is closely located to the European Union member countries of Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia in terms of health indicators. Cluster analysis results demonstrate that Turkey is classified in the same cluster with European Union member countries of Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in terms of health indicators. It has been determined that Turkey is not classified among the European Union member countries which have better health indicator values. It has been suggested that Turkey can develop in the field of health by following the progress in countries that are successful in health indicators.