Physicians, total — all countries

Physicians, total — Lower-middle-income countries

Physicians, total in lower-middle-income countries in 2022 — 1,804,305 people. Since 2004, the indicator has risen by 40.4%.

2022 1.8M people −25.4% vs 2021
World rank
Period maximum 2.42M people2021
Period minimum 1.29M people2004

Trend over time

2004–2022 · people

Physicians, total — Lower-middle-income countries, 2004–20221M1.5M2M2.5M20042006200820102012201420162018202020222004: 1,285,259 people2010: 1,537,080 people2016: 1,844,033 people2018: 2,222,299 people2019: 2,242,511 people2020: 1,945,455 people2021: 2,418,680 people2022: 1,804,305 people
Change over the period: +519,046 (+40.38%) Average annual rate: 1.9 %
Physicians, total — Lower-middle-income countries, by year Lower-middle-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2022 1.8M −614,375 −25.4%
2021 2.42M +473,225 +24.32%
2020 1.95M −297,056 −13.25%
2019 2.24M +20,212 +0.91%
2018 2.22M
2016 1.84M
2010 1.54M
2004 1.29M

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.