Physicians, total — all countries

Physicians, total — Upper-middle-income countries

Physicians, total in upper-middle-income countries in 2022 — 5,588,084 people. Since 2004, the indicator has risen by 139%.

2022 5.59M people −3.69% vs 2021
World rank
Period maximum 5.8M people2021
Period minimum 2.34M people2004

Trend over time

2004–2022 · people

Physicians, total — Upper-middle-income countries, 2004–20222M3M4M5M6M20042006200820102012201420162018202020222004: 2,338,362 people2008: 2,630,524 people2009: 2,872,485 people2010: 2,986,377 people2012: 3,425,154 people2013: 3,937,157 people2014: 3,727,284 people2015: 3,970,155 people2016: 4,073,268 people2017: 4,872,425 people2018: 4,671,799 people2019: 5,388,732 people2020: 5,210,451 people2021: 5,802,115 people2022: 5,588,084 people
Change over the period: +3.25M (+138.97%) Average annual rate: 4.96 %
Physicians, total — Upper-middle-income countries, by year Upper-middle-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2022 5.59M −214,031 −3.69%
2021 5.8M +591,664 +11.36%
2020 5.21M −178,281 −3.31%
2019 5.39M +716,933 +15.35%
2018 4.67M −200,626 −4.12%
2017 4.87M +799,157 +19.62%
2016 4.07M +103,113 +2.6%
2015 3.97M +242,871 +6.52%
2014 3.73M −209,873 −5.33%
2013 3.94M +512,003 +14.95%
2012 3.43M
2010 2.99M +113,892 +3.96%
2009 2.87M +241,961 +9.2%
2008 2.63M
2004 2.34M

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.