Austria leads the world in physician density with **** practicing doctors per thousand population in 2022, highlighting significant disparities in healthcare access globally. This stark contrast becomes evident when comparing Austria to countries like India, South Africa, and Indonesia, which have less than * physician per 1,000 people. Life expectancy and healthcare access Interestingly, countries with higher physician densities often correlate with higher life expectancies. Switzerland, for instance, boasts both a high physician density of **** per 1,000 people and the highest life expectancy globally at **** years. This relationship underscores the potential impact of accessible healthcare on population health. However, exceptions exist, as evidenced by the United States, where life expectancy has decreased in recent years despite having **** physicians per 1,000 people. Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic have contributed to this decline. Healthcare expenditure and physician density While physician density is an important metric, it does not always directly correlate with healthcare spending. The United States, for example, has the highest per capita health expenditure among OECD countries, spending over ****** U.S. dollars per person in 2023. This is significantly higher than countries with greater physician densities like Austria and Germany. The U.S. also allocates the largest share of its GDP to healthcare, at **** percent. The United States is an outlier regarding the correlation between healthcare spending, resources and health outcomes.

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.

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/].

The average for 2020 based on 14 countries was 3.85 doctors per 1,000 people. The highest value was in Austria: 5.35 doctors per 1,000 people and the lowest value was in Hungary: 3.14 doctors per 1,000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Mali ML: Physicians: per 1000 People data was reported at 0.085 Ratio in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.076 Ratio for 2009. Mali ML: Physicians: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 0.044 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2010, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.085 Ratio in 2010 and a record low of 0.014 Ratio in 1960. Mali ML: Physicians: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mali – Table ML.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;

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in United States was reported at 3.608 in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The average for 2020 based on 18 countries was 3.93 doctors per 1,000 people. The highest value was in Austria: 5.35 doctors per 1,000 people and the lowest value was in the United Kingdom: 3.03 doctors per 1,000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In Mexico, the number of practicing doctors amounted to around 2.56 professionals per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022, an increase compared to the figures reported a year earlier when there were around 2.51 practicing physicians per every thousand people. During the last year depicted, the number of physicians in Mexico totaled approximately 333,000 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 Canada and Colombia. Among the countries in the upper bracket for highest density of doctors are Cuba, Sweden, Belgium, and Uruguay. 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.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in France was reported at 3.343 in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

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/].

The average for 2020 based on 2 countries was 2.57 doctors per 1,000 people. The highest value was in Canada: 2.73 doctors per 1,000 people and the lowest value was in Mexico: 2.41 doctors per 1,000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Italy: Doctors per 1,000 people: The latest value from 2021 is 4.13 doctors per 1,000 people, an increase from 4 doctors per 1,000 people in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 3.93 doctors per 1,000 people, based on data from 12 countries. Historically, the average for Italy from 2000 to 2021 is 3.82 doctors per 1,000 people. The minimum value, 3.44 doctors per 1,000 people, was reached in 2000 while the maximum of 4.13 doctors per 1,000 people was recorded in 2021.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in Denmark was reported at 4.381 in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Denmark - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in Nigeria was reported at 0.394 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Nigeria - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in Togo was reported at 0.083 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Togo - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The average for 2020 based on 1 countries was 2.05 doctors per 1,000 people. The highest value was in Brazil: 2.05 doctors per 1,000 people and the lowest value was in Brazil: 2.05 doctors per 1,000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in Mozambique was reported at 0.082 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Mozambique - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in Haiti was reported at 0.237 in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Haiti - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Physicians (per 1,000 people) in Dominican Republic was reported at 2.235 in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Dominican Republic - Physicians - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Ireland: Doctors per 1,000 people: The latest value from 2021 is 4.05 doctors per 1,000 people, an increase from 3.46 doctors per 1,000 people in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 3.93 doctors per 1,000 people, based on data from 12 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 2011 to 2021 is 3.16 doctors per 1,000 people. The minimum value, 2.67 doctors per 1,000 people, was reached in 2011 while the maximum of 4.05 doctors per 1,000 people was recorded in 2021.