Physicians per 1,000 people — all countries

Physicians per 1,000 people — World

Physicians per 1,000 people in the world in 2022 — 1.86 per 1,000. Since 1970, the indicator has risen by 210.1%.

2022 1.86 per 1,000 +17.33% vs 2018
World rank
Period maximum 1.86 per 1,0002022
Period minimum 0.6 per 1,0001970

Trend over time

1970–2022 · per 1,000 people

Physicians per 1,000 people — World, 1970–202200.511.5219701976198219881994200020062012201820221970: 0.6 per 1,0001990: 1.31 per 1,0002000: 1.52 per 1,0002010: 1.49 per 1,0002018: 1.59 per 1,0002022: 1.86 per 1,000
Change over the period: +1.26 (+210.07%) Average annual rate: 2.2 %

Comparison, 2022

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: World

World 1.86 per 1,000
World 1.86 per 1,000
Physicians per 1,000 people — World, by year World All countries CSV XLSX
Year per 1,000 Change Change, %
2022 1.86
2018 1.59
2010 1.49
2000 1.52
1990 1.31
1970 0.6

About the indicator

The number of practicing physicians (general practitioners and specialists alike) per 1,000 people. WHO treats a level below 2.3 health workers per 1,000 people as the critical threshold of health workforce provision — below it, basic coverage of health services cannot be secured.

Important: The data are not collected every year; countries differ in whether they count only practicing physicians or all licensed ones.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.