Health & Population
Physicians (per 1,000 people)
Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.
World Bank code: SH.MED.PHYS.ZS • Data available for 194 countries • Latest year: 2023
In , Georgia led Physicians (per 1,000 people) at 5.64.
The world median across 58 reporting countries was 1.75.
How "Health & Population" indicators are measured
Health and population indicators come from national vital-registration systems, demographic and health surveys, and modeling by the UN Population Division and WHO. Mortality and morbidity estimates are often modeled rather than directly observed in lower-capacity statistical systems, which means some figures are interpolations between survey years. Life expectancy is a "period" measure based on current age-specific mortality, not a forecast of how long someone born today will actually live.
Distribution — 2023
- Reporting
- 58 countries
- Median
- 1.75
- Mean
- 2.01
- 25th percentile
- 0.29
- 75th percentile
- 3.33
- Range
- 0.04 – 5.64
World at a Glance — 2023
Every reporting country, grouped by region, shaded by value (quintile).
Lighter = lower value · Darker = higher value. Hover a cell to see the country and value.
Highest Values — 2023
| # | Country | Physicians (per 1,000 people) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia Europe & Central Asia | 5.64 |
| 2 | Austria Europe & Central Asia | 5.52 |
| 3 | Argentina Latin America & Caribbean | 5.11 |
| 4 | Andorra Europe & Central Asia | 5.07 |
| 5 | Norway Europe & Central Asia | 4.98 |
| 6 | Belarus Europe & Central Asia | 4.72 |
| 7 | San Marino Europe & Central Asia | 4.63 |
| 8 | Iceland Europe & Central Asia | 4.37 |
| 9 | Poland Europe & Central Asia | 4.03 |
| 10 | Moldova Europe & Central Asia | 4.02 |
Looking for a specific country? Only the top and bottom 10 appear here. See where every country ranks for Physicians (per 1,000 people).
View complete rankings →Biggest Movers — Year over Year
Largest increases
- Central African Republic +155.2%
- Ghana +86.0%
- Ethiopia +36.2%
- Niger +35.7%
- Kenya +22.5%
Largest decreases
- Yemen, Rep. -40.6%
- Palau -26.9%
- Indonesia -23.1%
- Gambia, The -13.5%
- Senegal -12.1%
By Income Group — Average
| Income group | Countries | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| High income | 15 | 3.80 |
| Upper middle income | 20 | 2.49 |
| Lower middle income | 15 | 0.58 |
| Low income | 7 | 0.13 |
| Not classified | 1 | 0.14 |
By Region — Average
| Region | Countries | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| East Asia & Pacific | 5 | 0.99 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 17 | 3.86 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 9 | 2.32 |
| Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 7 | 2.21 |
| North America | 1 | 2.82 |
| South Asia | 3 | 0.96 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 16 | 0.24 |
Lowest Values — 2023
| # | Country | Physicians (per 1,000 people) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niger | 0.04 |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea | 0.06 |
| 3 | Central African Republic | 0.07 |
| 4 | Chad | 0.09 |
| 5 | Gambia, The | 0.09 |
| 6 | Yemen, Rep. | 0.10 |
| 7 | Senegal | 0.11 |
| 8 | Zimbabwe | 0.14 |
| 9 | Ethiopia | 0.14 |
| 10 | Cote d'Ivoire | 0.17 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (SH.MED.PHYS.ZS), CC BY 4.0. Rankings show countries with available data for 2023.