With the current shortage of hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities, an ageing population and the rise of medical tourism, there is a pressing need for both more and better healthcare facilities in the region over the next five years    • New healthcare report by JLL finds the MENA region is lagging behind other developed economies in terms of per capita spending on healthcare and provision of hospital beds    • The region also has an ageing population – the number of people over 65 years is predicted to increase by 4.4% pa over the next five years   • To maintain the current provision rate of hospital beds per person would require the creation of 10,500 additional hospital beds in the five  major cities across the region over the next 5 years which equates to 70 additional hospitals   • With strong demand and government support for the healthcare sector, the report presents an opportunity for real estate investors to be more involved in the healthcare industry        In the wake of Cityscape 2017, a new healthcare report has been released today to highlight the huge opportunity for investors in the MENA real estate market over the next five years.  Demand for hospitals and healthcare facilities is increasing in the region, driven by a combination of an ageing population and the growing popularity of medical tourism. The number of people aged 65 years is forecast to increase by 4.4 per cent per annum over the next five years, according to the JLL healthcare report – and as a result, the number of people over 65 will increase from 21 million to 26 million by 2020.  The MENA region is also currently lagging behind more developed economies in terms of both per capita spending on healthcare and provision of hospital beds. The per capita spending on healthcare in the UAE is only 17 per cent of what is being spent in Switzerland, and MENA has an average of only 1.9 beds per 1,000 population in comparison to an OECD  average of 4.8 beds.  Even to simply maintain the current provision rate of hospital beds per person would require the creation of 10,500 additional hospital beds in the five  major cities across the region over the next five years, and assuming a typical ratio of 150 beds per hospital means there would be a need for around 70 additional hospitals.   If there is a need to increase the provision of hospital beds in line with the current OECD average of 4.8 beds per one thousand people, a staggering 470,000 additional beds would be required, which equates to 3,130 new hospitals, to be developed across these same five major cities by 2022 . While government spending on healthcare is increasing across the region, there is a growing opportunity for more real estate investor involvement in the healthcare sector.  Developers of large planned communities in the region are already recognising the need and incorporating clinics and other non-specialist healthcare facilities in their developments.  Joining us to discuss the new healthcare report and how real estate players can take advantage of the growing demand in MENA’s healthcare sector, we have in the studio JLL’s Head of Research, MENA Craig Plumb, Head of Capital Markets, MENA, Gaurav Shivpuri and Head of Healthcare & Education, Chris Francis.