Physicians, total — all countries

Physicians, total — BRICS

Physicians, total in BRICS in 2023 — 6,251,727 people. Since 2003, the indicator has risen by 116.4%.

2023 6.25M people +3.45% vs 2022
World rank
Period maximum 6.36M people2021
Period minimum 2.89M people2003

Trend over time

2003–2023 · people

Physicians, total — BRICS, 2003–20232M3M4M5M6M7M200320052007200920112013201520172019202120232003: 2,888,534 people2004: 3,018,028 people2005: 3,057,200 people2006: 3,125,800 people2007: 3,197,192 people2008: 3,303,427 people2009: 3,520,640 people2010: 3,623,464 people2011: 3,965,813 people2012: 3,702,084 people2013: 4,214,894 people2014: 4,086,893 people2015: 4,263,864 people2016: 4,299,871 people2017: 5,172,179 people2018: 5,075,951 people2019: 5,740,296 people2020: 5,468,104 people2021: 6,357,673 people2022: 6,043,292 people2023: 6,251,727 people
Change over the period: +3.36M (+116.43%) Average annual rate: 3.94 %
Physicians, total — BRICS, by year BRICS All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2023 6.25M +208,435 +3.45%
2022 6.04M −314,381 −4.94%
2021 6.36M +889,569 +16.27%
2020 5.47M −272,192 −4.74%
2019 5.74M +664,345 +13.09%
2018 5.08M −96,228 −1.86%
2017 5.17M +872,308 +20.29%
2016 4.3M +36,007 +0.84%
2015 4.26M +176,971 +4.33%
2014 4.09M −128,001 −3.04%
2013 4.21M +512,810 +13.85%
2012 3.7M −263,729 −6.65%
2011 3.97M +342,349 +9.45%
2010 3.62M +102,824 +2.92%
2009 3.52M +217,213 +6.58%
2008 3.3M +106,235 +3.32%
2007 3.2M +71,392 +2.28%
2006 3.13M +68,600 +2.24%
2005 3.06M +39,172 +1.3%
2004 3.02M +129,494 +4.48%
2003 2.89M

About the indicator

The number of practicing physicians, from the WHO Global Health Observatory. The World Bank republishes only the density — physicians per thousand people — so the absolute number is available directly from WHO alone. Physicians of all specialties are counted, general practitioners and specialists included.

Important: The definition of a practicing physician differs across national registers: some countries include those working in administration and research. Physicians per thousand people is a separate indicator and suits comparison between countries better.

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