By Thomas Kostigen

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) Health care in developing countries may become the worlds fastest-growing and biggest industry and the most in need of professionals and providers.

Talk about an industry that has both social and financial impact: This is it.

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A population explosion is expected to put 30% more people on the planet by 2050, with most of that growth taking place in the developing world.

There will be a massive need to care for all these people. Moreover, as the developing world matures economically because of its natural-resource wealth and cheap labor force, among other things, healthier diets will take hold. Infant-mortality rates will decrease and life expectancy will rise.

All these trends point toward a dramatic need for medical care and all that goes with it: education; access; administration, and insurance.

The health-care divide between developed and emerging nations is stark. According to the New York Academy of Sciences, there are statistically only nine hospital beds per 10,000 people in low-income countries; less than one-half-of-one doctor per 1,000 people; and not even a full nurse for those 1,000 people.

Compare that to 57 hospital beds per 10,000 people in high-income countries, with more than two-and-a-half doctors and more than eight nurses for per 1,000 people.

While we debate the merits of public health-care here in the U.S., and as many other countries around the world provide government health-care, private insurance shouldnt be written off.

Excerpt from:

Thomas Kostigen's Impact Investor: Health-care sector faces its next frontier