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Physicians per 1,000 people (WHO)

Generalist and specialist medical practitioners per 1,000 people. National definitions of who is counted vary.

Unit: Physicians per 1,000 people Frequency: Annual Coverage: 208 countries and 11 groups 1960 to 2023 Source: World Bank (original data: World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Statistics; OECD)
Highest in 2020 9.29 per 1,000 people Cuba Lowest in 2020 0.04 per 1,000 people Niger
Countries ranked for 2020 136 Updated by the source on 8 October 2026

136 countries have a value for 2020, the latest period with data for most countries. Some countries have newer figures; see the ranking below for each country's latest year.

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Physicians per 1,000 people. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Physicians per 1,000 people (WHO) (physicians per 1,000 people), 1999 to 2022
Period WorldUnited StatesChinaIndia
2022 1.86 per 1,000 people 3.68 per 1,000 people 3.11 per 1,000 people –
2021 – 3.58 per 1,000 people 2.52 per 1,000 people –
2020 – 3.52 per 1,000 people 2.39 per 1,000 people 0.72 per 1,000 people
2019 – 3.48 per 1,000 people 2.26 per 1,000 people 0.89 per 1,000 people
2018 – 2.55 per 1,000 people 2.12 per 1,000 people 0.84 per 1,000 people
2017 – – 2.00 per 1,000 people 0.77 per 1,000 people
2016 – – 1.89 per 1,000 people 0.75 per 1,000 people
2015 – – 1.80 per 1,000 people 0.72 per 1,000 people
2014 – – 1.71 per 1,000 people 0.72 per 1,000 people
2013 – – 1.66 per 1,000 people –
2012 – – 1.56 per 1,000 people –
2011 – – 1.49 per 1,000 people –
2010 1.49 per 1,000 people – 1.46 per 1,000 people –
2009 – – 1.42 per 1,000 people –
2008 – – 1.34 per 1,000 people –
2007 – – 1.29 per 1,000 people –
2006 – – 1.27 per 1,000 people –
2005 – – 1.24 per 1,000 people –
2004 – 2.71 per 1,000 people 1.22 per 1,000 people –
2003 – – 1.19 per 1,000 people –
2002 – – 1.14 per 1,000 people –
2001 – – 1.28 per 1,000 people –
2000 1.52 per 1,000 people 2.60 per 1,000 people 1.26 per 1,000 people –
1999 – – 1.24 per 1,000 people –

A dash means no value was published for that period.

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In short

  • Among the 136 countries with a value for 2020, the highest is Cuba (9.29 per 1,000 people) and the lowest Niger (0.04 per 1,000 people).
  • Half of the countries are above 2.23 per 1,000 people and half below.
  • From 2019 to 2020 the value rose in 5 countries and fell in 5.

About this measure

Definition
Generalist and specialist medical practitioners per 1,000 people. National definitions of who is counted vary.
Population covered
Total population
Unit
Physicians per 1,000 people
Frequency
Annual
Changes are shown as
Differences in the same unit (per 1,000 people)

Source and dates

Original producer
World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Statistics; OECD
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
SH.MED.PHYS.ZS · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1960 to 2023
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Statistics; OECD

All countries in 2020 Every value is for 2020, so the countries are compared at the same point in time.

  1. 1 Cuba 9.29 per 1,000 people
  2. 2 Monaco 8.61 per 1,000 people
  3. 3 Greece 6.19 per 1,000 people
  4. 4 Portugal 5.58 per 1,000 people
  5. 5 Austria 5.34 per 1,000 people
  6. 6 Argentina 5.30 per 1,000 people
  7. 7 Georgia 5.12 per 1,000 people
  8. 8 Norway 4.68 per 1,000 people
  9. 9 Belarus 4.61 per 1,000 people
  10. 10 Andorra 4.59 per 1,000 people
  11. 11 Spain 4.55 per 1,000 people
  12. 12 Lithuania 4.48 per 1,000 people
  13. 13 Germany 4.44 per 1,000 people
  14. 14 Switzerland 4.39 per 1,000 people
  15. 15 Denmark 4.38 per 1,000 people
  16. 16 Sweden 4.32 per 1,000 people
  17. 17 Iceland 4.32 per 1,000 people
  18. 18 Trinidad and Tobago 4.30 per 1,000 people
  19. 19 Bulgaria 4.28 per 1,000 people
  20. 20 Saint Lucia 4.23 per 1,000 people
  21. 21 Malta 4.16 per 1,000 people
  22. 22 Czechia 4.15 per 1,000 people
  23. 23 Moldova 4.04 per 1,000 people
  24. 24 Italy 3.97 per 1,000 people
  25. 25 Australia 3.90 per 1,000 people
  26. 26 Russia 3.81 per 1,000 people
  27. 27 Netherlands 3.81 per 1,000 people
  28. 28 Mongolia 3.78 per 1,000 people
  29. 29 Slovakia 3.67 per 1,000 people
  30. 30 Kazakhstan 3.66 per 1,000 people
  31. 31 Finland 3.61 per 1,000 people
  32. 32 Croatia 3.61 per 1,000 people
  33. 33 Israel 3.57 per 1,000 people
  34. 34 United States 3.52 per 1,000 people
  35. 35 Belgium 3.51 per 1,000 people
  36. 36 Estonia 3.48 per 1,000 people
  37. 37 Ireland 3.46 per 1,000 people
  38. 38 New Zealand 3.44 per 1,000 people
  39. 39 North Macedonia 3.34 per 1,000 people
  40. 40 Latvia 3.34 per 1,000 people
  41. 41 Romania 3.31 per 1,000 people
  42. 42 Poland 3.30 per 1,000 people
  43. 43 Slovenia 3.30 per 1,000 people
  44. 44 France 3.25 per 1,000 people
  45. 45 Cyprus 3.20 per 1,000 people
  46. 46 Armenia 3.16 per 1,000 people
  47. 47 Hungary 3.14 per 1,000 people
  48. 48 Azerbaijan 3.13 per 1,000 people
  49. 49 Saudi Arabia 3.08 per 1,000 people
  50. 50 United Kingdom 3.03 per 1,000 people
  51. 51 Serbia 2.88 per 1,000 people
  52. 52 Montenegro 2.83 per 1,000 people
  53. 53 United Arab Emirates 2.83 per 1,000 people
  54. 54 Chile 2.80 per 1,000 people
  55. 55 Mauritius 2.69 per 1,000 people
  56. 56 Lebanon 2.68 per 1,000 people
  57. 57 Singapore 2.64 per 1,000 people
  58. 58 Barbados 2.62 per 1,000 people
  59. 59 Japan 2.59 per 1,000 people
  60. 60 South Korea 2.51 per 1,000 people
  61. 61 Costa Rica 2.49 per 1,000 people
  62. 62 Mexico 2.43 per 1,000 people
  63. 63 Canada 2.42 per 1,000 people
  64. 64 Colombia 2.39 per 1,000 people
  65. 65 China 2.39 per 1,000 people
  66. 66 Ecuador 2.31 per 1,000 people
  67. 67 Uzbekistan 2.31 per 1,000 people
  68. 68 Kuwait 2.27 per 1,000 people
  69. 69 Malaysia 2.18 per 1,000 people
  70. 70 Oman 2.00 per 1,000 people
  71. 71 Tajikistan 2.00 per 1,000 people
  72. 72 Türkiye 1.99 per 1,000 people
  73. 73 Turkmenistan 1.96 per 1,000 people
  74. 74 Dominican Republic 1.95 per 1,000 people
  75. 75 Albania 1.88 per 1,000 people
  76. 76 Palau 1.80 per 1,000 people
  77. 77 Kyrgyzstan 1.69 per 1,000 people
  78. 78 Panama 1.63 per 1,000 people
  79. 79 Syria 1.50 per 1,000 people
  80. 80 Peru 1.44 per 1,000 people
  81. 81 Guyana 1.39 per 1,000 people
  82. 82 Tuvalu 1.35 per 1,000 people
  83. 83 Tunisia 1.32 per 1,000 people
  84. 84 Paraguay 1.30 per 1,000 people
  85. 85 Guatemala 1.28 per 1,000 people
  86. 86 Sri Lanka 1.17 per 1,000 people
  87. 87 Micronesia 0.97 per 1,000 people
  88. 88 Bolivia 0.96 per 1,000 people
  89. 89 Tonga 0.95 per 1,000 people
  90. 90 Iraq 0.92 per 1,000 people
  91. 91 Nepal 0.86 per 1,000 people
  92. 92 Viet Nam 0.86 per 1,000 people
  93. 93 Philippines 0.75 per 1,000 people
  94. 94 Timor-Leste 0.75 per 1,000 people
  95. 95 Bahrain 0.74 per 1,000 people
  96. 96 Cabo Verde 0.73 per 1,000 people
  97. 97 India 0.72 per 1,000 people
  98. 98 Egypt 0.67 per 1,000 people
  99. 99 Bangladesh 0.66 per 1,000 people
  100. 100 Indonesia 0.62 per 1,000 people
  101. 101 Gabon 0.59 per 1,000 people
  102. 102 Samoa 0.56 per 1,000 people
  103. 103 Thailand 0.51 per 1,000 people
  104. 104 Honduras 0.49 per 1,000 people
  105. 105 Bhutan 0.49 per 1,000 people
  106. 106 Comoros 0.44 per 1,000 people
  107. 107 Botswana 0.43 per 1,000 people
  108. 108 Namibia 0.38 per 1,000 people
  109. 109 Laos 0.36 per 1,000 people
  110. 110 Afghanistan 0.25 per 1,000 people
  111. 111 Zambia 0.25 per 1,000 people
  112. 112 Mauritania 0.20 per 1,000 people
  113. 113 Guinea-Bissau 0.19 per 1,000 people
  114. 114 Yemen 0.18 per 1,000 people
  115. 115 Ghana 0.17 per 1,000 people
  116. 116 Uganda 0.16 per 1,000 people
  117. 117 Côte d'Ivoire 0.15 per 1,000 people
  118. 118 Liberia 0.15 per 1,000 people
  119. 119 Eswatini 0.14 per 1,000 people
  120. 120 Zimbabwe 0.13 per 1,000 people
  121. 121 Rwanda 0.12 per 1,000 people
  122. 122 Ethiopia 0.10 per 1,000 people
  123. 123 Cameroon 0.10 per 1,000 people
  124. 124 Burkina Faso 0.10 per 1,000 people
  125. 125 Eritrea 0.09 per 1,000 people
  126. 126 Mozambique 0.08 per 1,000 people
  127. 127 Senegal 0.08 per 1,000 people
  128. 128 Togo 0.08 per 1,000 people
  129. 129 Gambia 0.08 per 1,000 people
  130. 130 Kenya 0.07 per 1,000 people
  131. 131 Sierra Leone 0.07 per 1,000 people
  132. 132 Burundi 0.07 per 1,000 people
  133. 133 Chad 0.06 per 1,000 people
  134. 134 Malawi 0.05 per 1,000 people
  135. 135 South Sudan 0.04 per 1,000 people
  136. 136 Niger 0.04 per 1,000 people
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Grey: no value for 2020. Colour groups split countries into roughly equal numbers. Boundaries: Natural Earth.