List of countries and dependencies by number of physicians

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A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments.

(Unreliable data: It says the country with most physicians, China, has 1,862,630 physicians and 19.8 physicians per 10,000 people. That puts the population at 941 million, while the country actually has 1.4 billion people.)

List

Country or dependency2000–2009 [1] 2007–2013 [2] Latest available data (2020–2023) [3]
SizePhysicians per
10,000 people
Physicians per
10,000 people
Physicians per
10,000 people
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 196121032.741.02
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 311753848.354.6
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 323883834.0
Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 36261111.518.83
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 408571212.117.2
Flag of Angola.svg  Angola 116511.7
Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra 2493740.0
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1226233238.638.95
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 110903727.0
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan 597022.72.54
Flag of the Bahamas.svg Bahamas 99728.228.2
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 4288133.66.7
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 2227309.2
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 469654939.3
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 251118.3
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 441244229.962.57
Flag of Benin.svg  Benin 54210.6
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 279113738.7
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia 10329124.7
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 55401419.3
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 71544
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3200131718.921.6
Flag of Brunei.svg  Brunei 4001114.419.13
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 92110.5
Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi 2000.58.550.65
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 520.52.65.6
Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 51872526.2
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 3011.2
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 279572830.832.91
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 48000191916.64
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 44960611.9
Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon 395335.94
Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana 36652.114.05
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 620.51.10.77
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 2587111.64
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 133679.39.312.8
Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea 94011
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg  Guinea-Bissau 780.50.72.2
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2881823538.942.5
Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 3676664.89
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 59599545463.06
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 199514542.771.2
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 172263234.9
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  Democratic Republic of the Congo 582711
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti 14022
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 156701914.9
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 1799002428.34.5
Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 64911.72.97
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 208620.81.89
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 253143633.436.54
Flag of India.svg  India 643520678.6
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 2040004.3
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 152792625.6
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 1599456.17.1
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 618709915.8
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 131413126.740.62
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 11203834.8
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1638003849.545.77
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2150003737.641.62
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 673932
Flag of Cape Verde.svg  Cape Verde 31063.1
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 573873936.240.28
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 204721.7
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 312420.81.24
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 623071920.726.1
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 23132877.424.9
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 4506122.26
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 19502323.353.75
Flag of Kiribati.svg  Kiribati 2023.8
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 18626301414.919.8
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 587611414.723.62
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros 11522
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Republic of the Congo 40111
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 745973333
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 52041311.127.7
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 274611.4
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 724166467.284.2
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 48401817.922.93
Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan 123952319.7
Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 200031.83.27
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 69403035.833.45
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 8911
Flag of Liberia.svg  Liberia 510.50.1
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 117603332
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 70701219
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 137294041.249.5
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 1326292930.1
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius 1303111126.58
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania 44511.3
Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 315021.6
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 2570.50.20.49
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 1702071222.28
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 106010.8
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 302914.2
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 13573434.954.85
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 1826966.27.3
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands 2454.4
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 303519292123.8
Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg Federated States of Micronesia 6061.89.63
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 5480.50.40.81
Flag of Monaco.svg Monaco 27071.771.7
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 67322628.4
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 1779146.1
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 59833.7
Flag of Nauru.svg Nauru 1087.1
Flag of Nepal.svg  Nepal 5384228.67
Flag of Niger.svg  Niger 2880.50.20.34
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 5537644.13.8
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 64417393938.36
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 204549
Flag of Niue.svg Niue 42030
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 81902127.435.16
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 181433942.851.68
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 3000.50.3
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 69461525.328.79
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 49081824.319.94
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg Cook Islands 201212
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 12785988.39.8
Flag of Palau.svg Palau 301613.817.78
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 44311516.516.29
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 27510.60.63
Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 63551112.332.42
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 3443711.311.316.46
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 774792022.237.17
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 36138344141.4
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 819981721.425.08
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 111672729.840.57
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 614183434340.1
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 2210.50.6
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 414551924.5
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 7938121629.13
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 5034.55.54
Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino 16351.051
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg  São Tomé and Príncipe 8155
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 418701624.927.6
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 17121.71.4
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles 1211510.7
Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 74110.60.84
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8988
Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg Saint Kitts and Nevis 461111
Flag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia 181.11.1
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 200132021.1
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 63801519.5
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 10342514.6
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 168683133.246.29
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 47662425.232.79
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1261262128.131.71
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 7936482724.526.1
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 6012.2
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia 3000.50.5
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 1108332.8
Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 19155
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 950.50.20.7
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 132672019.2
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 1898733.99.28
Flag of East Timor.svg  Timor-Leste 7910.77.67
Flag of Togo.svg  Togo 34910.50.59
Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga 3035.610.09
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 15431211.834.12
Flag of Tuvalu.svg Tuvalu 10910.912.61
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 133301312.2
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 121042424
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1104821517.118.5
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 3361111.58
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 716272625.3
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 1437283135.4
Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 123843737.462
Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji 38054.3
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 9037012127.83
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 175033329.143.25
Flag of France.svg  France 2276833731.932.7
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 117992628.4
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  Central African Republic 33110.50.7
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 3450.50.50.4
Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 12332021.127.68
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 368153636.254.69
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 172501117.829.73
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 288124040.543
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 324953639.370.62
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 1047966.811.92
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador 183351517.2
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea 15333
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea 215110.82
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 44143332.438.63
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 18060.50.31.04
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 3482987.88.09
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 225394.1
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 270371212324.1

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physician</span> Professional who practices medicine

A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment—known as specialities—or they may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities—known as general practice. Medical practice properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisted suicide</span> Suicide undertaken with aid from another person

Assisted suicide – alternately referred to as medical aid in dying – means a procedure in which people take medications to end their own lives with the help of others, usually medical professionals. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is an end of life measure for a person suffering a painful, terminal illness. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifies under the physician-assisted suicide laws for that location, the physician's assistance is usually limited to writing a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs.

A Physician Assistant or Physician Associate (PA) is a type of healthcare professional. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes between smaller jurisdictions such as states or provinces. Depending on location, PAs practice semi-autonomously under the supervision of a physician, or autonomously perform a subset of medical services classically provided by physicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primary care</span> Day-to-day health care given by a health care provider

Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care that the patient may need. Patients commonly receive primary care from professionals such as a primary care physician, a physician assistant, a physical therapist, or a nurse practitioner. In some localities, such a professional may be a registered nurse, a pharmacist, a clinical officer, or an Ayurvedic or other traditional medicine professional. Depending on the nature of the health condition, patients may then be referred for secondary or tertiary care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Canada</span>

Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984, and is universal. The 2002 Royal Commission, known as the Romanow Report, revealed that Canadians consider universal access to publicly funded health services as a "fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family medicine</span> Medical specialty

Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is named a family physician. It is often referred to as general practice and a practitioner as a general practitioner. Historically, their role was once performed by any doctor with qualifications from a medical school and who works in the community. However, since the 1950s, family medicine / general practice has become a specialty in its own right, with specific training requirements tailored to each country. The names of the specialty emphasize its holistic nature and/or its roots in the family. It is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. According to the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the aim of family medicine is "promoting personal, comprehensive and continuing care for the individual in the context of the family and the community". The issues of values underlying this practice are usually known as primary care ethics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health care system in Japan</span> Overview of the health care system in Japan

The health care system in Japan provides different types of services, including screening examinations, prenatal care and infectious disease control, with the patient accepting responsibility for 30% of these costs while the government pays the remaining 70%. Payment for personal medical services is offered by a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. All residents of Japan are required by the law to have health insurance coverage. People without insurance from employers can participate in a national health insurance program, administered by local governments. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice and cannot be denied coverage. Hospitals, by law, must be run as non-profits and be managed by physicians.

The Cuban government operates a national health system and assumes fiscal and administrative responsibility for the health care of all its citizens. All healthcare in Cuba is free to Cuban residents, although challenges include low salaries for doctors, poor facilities, poor provision of equipment, and the frequent absence of essential drugs. There are no private hospitals or clinics as all health services are government-run. The current public health minister of Cuba is José Angel Portal Miranda.

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licensed as a physician or surgeon and thus have full medical and surgical practicing rights in all 50 US states. As of 2021, there were 168,701 osteopathic physicians and medical students in DO programs across the United States. Osteopathic medicine emerged historically from osteopathy, but has become a distinct profession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Israel</span> Overview of the health care system in Israel

Healthcare in Israel is universal and participation in a medical insurance plan is compulsory. All Israeli residents are entitled to basic health care as a fundamental right. The Israeli healthcare system is based on the National Health Insurance Law of 1995, which mandates all citizens resident in the country to join one of four official health insurance organizations, known as Kupat Holim which are run as not-for-profit organizations and are prohibited by law from denying any Israeli resident membership. Israelis can increase their medical coverage and improve their options by purchasing private health insurance. In a survey of 48 countries in 2013, Israel's health system was ranked fourth in the world in terms of efficiency, and in 2014 it ranked seventh out of 51. In 2020, Israel's health system was ranked third most efficient in the world. In 2015, Israel was ranked sixth-healthiest country in the world by Bloomberg rankings and ranked eighth in terms of life expectancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in Uzbekistan</span>

In the post-Soviet era, the quality of Uzbekistan’s health care has declined. Between 1992 and 2003, spending on health care and the ratio of hospital beds to population both decreased by nearly 50 percent, and Russian emigration in that decade deprived the health system of many practitioners. In 2004 Uzbekistan had 53 hospital beds per 10,000 population. Basic medical supplies such as disposable needles, anesthetics, and antibiotics are in very short supply. Although all citizens nominally are entitled to free health care, in the post-Soviet era bribery has become a common way to bypass the slow and limited service of the state system. In the early 2000s, policy has focused on improving primary health care facilities and cutting the cost of inpatient facilities. The state budget for 2006 allotted 11.1 percent to health expenditures, compared with 10.9 percent in 2005.

Healthcare in Finland consists of a highly decentralized three-level publicly funded healthcare system and a much smaller private sector. Although the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has the highest decision-making authority, specific healthcare precincts are responsible for providing healthcare to their residents as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Italy</span> Overview of the health care system in Italy

Italy's healthcare system is consistently ranked among the best in the world. Life expectancy is the 4th highest among OECD countries and the world's 8th highest according to the WHO. Healthcare spending accounted for 9.7% of GDP in 2020.

After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Cuba established a program to send its medical personnel overseas, particularly to Latin America, Africa, and Oceania, and to bring medical students and patients to Cuba for training and treatment respectively. In 2007, Cuba had 42,000 workers in international collaborations in 103 countries, of whom more than 30,000 were health personnel, including at least 19,000 physicians. Cuba provides more medical personnel to the developing world than all the G8 countries combined. The Cuban missions have had substantial positive local impacts on the populations served. It is widely believed that medical workers are a vital export commodity for Cuba. According to Granma, the Cuban state newspaper, the number of Cuban medical staff abroad fell from 50,000 in 2015 to 28,000 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physician supply</span>

Physician supply refers to the number of trained physicians working in a health care system or active in the labor market. The supply depends primarily on the number of graduates of medical schools in a country or jurisdiction but also on the number continuing to practice medicine as a career path and remaining in their country of origin. The number of physicians needed in a given context depends on several different factors, including the demographics and epidemiology of the local population, the numbers and types of other health care practitioners working in the system, and the policies and goals in place of the health care system. If more physicians are trained than needed, supply exceeds demand. If too few physicians are trained and retained, some people may have difficulty accessing health care services. A physician shortage is a situation in which there are not enough physicians to treat all patients in need of medical care. That can be observed at the level of a given health care facility, a province/state, a country, or worldwide.

Healthcare in the United States is largely provided by private sector healthcare facilities, and paid for by a combination of public programs, private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments. The U.S. is the only developed country without a system of universal healthcare, and a significant proportion of its population lacks health insurance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physicians in the United States</span>

Physicians are an important part of health care in the United States. The vast majority of physicians in the US have a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, though some have a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).

Examples of health care systems of the world, sorted by continent, are as follows.

Suicide among doctors refers to physicians or medical trainees dying by suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physician shortage in the United States</span>

Concerns of both a current and future shortage of medical doctors due to the supply and demand for physicians in the United States have come from multiple entities including professional bodies such as the American Medical Association (AMA). The subject has been analyzed as well by the American news media in publications such as Forbes, The Nation, and Newsweek. In the 2010s, a study released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) titled The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034 specifically projected a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 individuals within the following two decades, approximately.

References

  1. "WHO 2010" (PDF).
  2. "WHO 2015" (PDF).
  3. WHO, GHO (2023-01-12). "Medical doctors (per 10 000 population)". World Health Organization. Retrieved 2023-10-11.