Surgeons need to know that 39% of countries provide timely access to essential surgery, underscoring a significant global shortfall in surgical care.

• Only 50.3% of countries meet benchmarks for surgical workforce density.
• 31.5% of countries report adequate surgical volume, with no country-level benchmarks on perioperative mortality.

Integrating standardized surgical metrics into health systems is essential for monitoring and improving care delivery.

• High-income countries outperformed others in meeting LCOGS benchmarks, highlighting healthcare disparities.