Number of physicians per 1 000 inhabitants
Number of physicians per 1 000 inhabitants
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS
| Title | Number of physicians per 1 000 inhabitants |
| Unit of measure | Number (per 1 000 people) |
| Source data | World Bank |
| Original data source | World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Workforce Statistics, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, supplemented by country data. |
| Statistical concepts and definition | Health systems, as defined by the WHO in the World Health Report 2000, encompass the collective institutions and actions aimed primarily at promoting, restoring, or maintaining health. These systems are central to addressing diseases and enhancing population health outcomes. The World Bank's strategy on Health, Nutrition, and Population underscores the importance of bolstering health systems – often found lacking in many countries –to boost the impact of disease-reduction programs and further diminish morbidity and mortality rates. The WHO advocates for the assessment of health systems through critical components like financing, service provision, workforce, governance, and information, using specific indicators for comprehensive monitoring. Such evaluation enables comparisons of the effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness across health system models, pinpointing system strengths, weaknesses, and investment needs, including the expansion of health facilities, enhancements to health information systems, or workforce training improvements. The density of health workers (physicians, nurses, midwives, and community health workers) serves as an indicator of medical personnel availability. |
| Relevance | To achieve sufficient primary care coverage, the WHO's World Health Report 2006 posits a minimum of 2.5 medical staff (physicians, nurses, and midwives) per 1 000 people. The WHO gathers data through various means including household and labour force surveys, censuses, and administrative records, though comparability is challenged by variations in medical personnel definitions and training. Additionally, the tendency for human resources to cluster in urban centres means that average density figures may not fully represent health personnel accessibility for the broader population. |
| Time coverage | Annual |
| Sector coverage | Social/Health |
| Data compilation | Weighted average |
| Relationship* | -1 |
* This field expresses the impact on vulnerability. The minus sign indicates that it has a vulnerability-decreasing impact (positive impact on resilience), and the plus sign indicates a vulnerability-increasing impact.