Among OECD countries in 2022, South Korea had the highest rate of yearly visits to a doctor per capita. On average, people in South Korea visited the doctors 15.7 times per year in person. Health care utilization is an important indicator of the success of a country’s health care system. There are many factors that affect health care utilization including healthcare structure and the supply of health care providers.

OECD health systems

Healthcare systems globally include a variety of tools for accessing healthcare, including private insurance based systems, like in the U.S., and universal systems, like in the U.K. Health systems have varying costs among the OECD countries. Worldwide, Europe has the highest expenditures for health as a proportion of the GDP. Among all OECD countries, The United States had the highest share of government spending on health care. Recent estimates of current per capita health expenditures showed the United States also had, by far, the highest per capita spending on health worldwide.

Supply of health providers

Globally, the country with the highest physician density is Cuba, although most other countries with high number of physicians to population was found in Europe. The number of graduates of medicine impacts the number of available physicians in countries. Among OECD countries, Latvia had the highest rate of graduates of medicine, which was almost twice the rate of the OECD average.

In 2021, Austria was the country with the highest practicing physician density at 5.4 practicing physicians per thousand population. On the other hand, countries like India, South Africa, and Indonesia had less than one physician per 1,000 population, the lowest physician density among the selected countries.

Afghanistan Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 0.254 Ratio in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.212 Ratio for 2019. Afghanistan Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.186 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2020, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.298 Ratio in 2014 and a record low of 0.035 Ratio in 1960. Afghanistan Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Afghanistan – Table AF.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.;World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.c.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Vietnam VN: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 0.821 Ratio in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.790 Ratio for 2015. Vietnam VN: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.616 Ratio from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2016, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.180 Ratio in 2013 and a record low of 0.241 Ratio in 1980. Vietnam VN: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

This statistic depicts the countries with the lowest physicians density average worldwide for the period 2007-2016. As of that year, Niger was one of the countries with the lowest number of physicians per inhabitants. The African country was reported to have 0.0 physicians per 1,000 inhabitants.

Congo, Republic of CG: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 0.175 Ratio in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.100 Ratio for 2018. Congo, Republic of CG: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.166 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2022, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.734 Ratio in 1998 and a record low of 0.060 Ratio in 1960. Congo, Republic of CG: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Congo, Republic of – Table CG.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.;World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.c.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

In Mexico, the number of practicing doctors amounted to around 2.51 professionals per 1,000 inhabitants in 2021, an increase compared to the figures reported a year earlier when there were around 2.41 practicing physicians per every thousand people. During the last year depicted, the number of physicians in Mexico totaled approximately 324,000 professionals.

Density of doctors worldwide

In a global comparison, Mexico ranks in an middle category for density of medical doctors per 1,000 population, similar to Japan and Qatar. Among the countries in the upper bracket for highest density of doctors are Cuba, Georgia, Lithuania, and Greece. Along with Mexico’s moderate density of doctors, over 39 percent of the population was considered vulnerable due to lack of access to health services in Mexico as of 2022, up from around 21.5 percent a decade earlier.

Health care in Mexico

Nearly 33 million people in Mexico held public health insurance through Seguro Popular in 2020, which was replaced by a new institution at the beginning of that year, called INSABI (Instituto Nacional de Salud para el Bienestar). However, the IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) led by a large margin as the largest provider of health insurance in the North American country.

Denmark DK: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 3.655 Ratio in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.648 Ratio for 2013. Denmark DK: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 2.898 Ratio from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2014, with 33 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.660 Ratio in 2001 and a record low of 1.800 Ratio in 1981. Denmark DK: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Denmark – Table DK.World Bank: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

Finland Population Per Medical Doctors Graduates was up 0.5% in 2019, from a year earlier.

In 2021, there were approximately 2.56 doctors for every 1,000 inhabitants in South Korea. This was a slight increase compared to the preceding year. This ratio has increased steadily since 2000, with the exception of a slight drop in 2004. However, South Korea still has few doctors relative to its population. The OECD average was 3.3 doctors per 1,000 people, and among the full OECD member countries, only Mexico and Turkey had lower ratios. According to OECD data, key partners China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia have ratios lower than Korea. At the other end of the spectrum is Austria with 5.48 doctors per 1,000 people, followed by Norway with 5.16 and Germany with 4.53. Shortage of medical staffs The Korean government officially declared a shortage of several thousand doctors across the nation and recommended the training of an additional 150 doctors every year to make up the shortfall. Furthermore, doctors of traditional Korean medicine are counted among the number of doctors, meaning there are even fewer doctors of modern medical sciences than official figures suggest. Yet there are several factors, such as resistance from doctors, preventing the government from simply increasing the number of medical graduates. Regional imbalances in the medical environmentSome experts refute the government’s claims that Korea faces a doctor shortage and point towards other factors. For example, Korea has a higher population density than other countries, meaning that the average Korean doctor meets with more patients than an Austrian or Norwegian one would. Indeed, half the population is concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area. Additionally, Koreans see doctors around 19 times a year on average, which is far more frequently than any other OECD nationals. Despite this, Korea spends a lower share of its GDP on medical expenditures than other OECD countries, implying that medical personnel do more work for less financial compensation. Regional disparities where doctors are concentrated in Seoul and other major cities is also an issue. The doctor-to-people ratio in Seoul is higher than the national ratio, and the same as the OECD average. Many argue that a shortage of nurses is a greater concern than an alleged shortage of doctors. While the number of trained nurses is adequate, many leave because of harsh working conditions.

Somalia SO: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 0.029 Ratio in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.035 Ratio for 2010. Somalia SO: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.037 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2014, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.071 Ratio in 1984 and a record low of 0.024 Ratio in 1960. Somalia SO: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Somalia – Table SO.World Bank: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

Madagascar MG: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 0.143 Ratio in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.144 Ratio for 2011. Madagascar MG: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.143 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2012, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.272 Ratio in 1995 and a record low of 0.087 Ratio in 2001. Madagascar MG: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Madagascar – Table MG.World Bank: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

This dataset provides values for MEDICAL DOCTORS reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The lack of medical services in West Africa represents a serious issue in sanitary emergency. As of April 2020, different West African countries counted less than a doctor every 10,000 inhabitants. Especially, Sierra Leone had three physicians per 100,000 individuals, the lowest density of medical doctors in West Africa. Moreover, Burkina Faso was estimated to have only 11 ventilators in the whole country for a population of almost 20 million people.

The average number of doctors across the OECD countries in 2019 equaled to 35 per 10,000 inhabitants. The member countries of OECD are mostly high-income countries, whereas Nigeria is an emerging economy and it belongs to countries with lower middle-incomes.

Germany DE: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 4.518 Ratio in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 4.459 Ratio for 2020. Germany DE: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 3.487 Ratio from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2021, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.518 Ratio in 2021 and a record low of 2.762 Ratio in 1991. Germany DE: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.;World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.c.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Kuwait KW: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 2.608 Ratio in 2015. This stayed constant from the previous number of 2.608 Ratio for 2014. Kuwait KW: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 1.800 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2015, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.608 Ratio in 2015 and a record low of 0.183 Ratio in 1990. Kuwait KW: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kuwait – Table KW.World Bank: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

In 2020, the density rate for medical doctors in Kuwait was 31.5 per 10,000 people, the highest in that year among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The regional average of the density of physicians in the GCC was higher than the world average.

Colombia CO: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 2.327 Ratio in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.252 Ratio for 2019. Colombia CO: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 1.334 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2020, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.327 Ratio in 2020 and a record low of 0.354 Ratio in 1960. Colombia CO: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.;World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.c.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

Mauritius: Doctors per 1,000 people: The latest value from is doctors per 1,000 people, unavailable from doctors per 1,000 people in . In comparison, the world average is 0.00 doctors per 1,000 people, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for Mauritius from to is doctors per 1,000 people. The minimum value, doctors per 1,000 people, was reached in while the maximum of doctors per 1,000 people was recorded in .

Iran IR: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 1.491 Ratio in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.890 Ratio for 2010. Iran IR: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.361 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2014, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.491 Ratio in 2014 and a record low of 0.244 Ratio in 1960. Iran IR: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank: Health Statistics. Physicians include generalist and specialist medical practitioners.; ; World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;