Community health workers (per 1,000 people) - Country Ranking

Definition: Community health workers include various types of community health aides, many with country-specific occupational titles such as community health officers, community health-education workers, family health workers, lady health visitors and health extension package workers.

Source: World Health Organization's Global Health Workforce Statistics, OECD, supplemented by country data.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Eswatini 3.65 2004
2 Nauru 1.69 2011
3 Guinea-Bissau 1.65 2004
4 Rwanda 1.36 2004
5 St. Kitts and Nevis 1.04 2001
6 São Tomé and Principe 1.00 2004
7 Vanuatu 0.94 2008
8 China 0.83 2011
9 The Gambia 0.73 2008
10 Malawi 0.72 2008
11 Nepal 0.68 2004
12 Papua New Guinea 0.59 2008
13 India 0.58 2016
14 Guinea 0.52 2016
15 Equatorial Guinea 0.51 2004
16 Belize 0.50 2009
16 Singapore 0.50 2016
18 Bangladesh 0.48 2012
19 Panama 0.46 2000
20 Grenada 0.44 2003
21 Malaysia 0.44 2010
22 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 0.42 2000
23 Central African Republic 0.39 2009
24 Korea 0.38 2009
25 Iran 0.36 2004
26 Ethiopia 0.36 2009
27 Guyana 0.33 2010
28 Jamaica 0.32 2016
29 Mauritania 0.30 2013
30 Zambia 0.29 2008
31 Ghana 0.20 2008
31 Myanmar 0.20 2012
33 Uganda 0.19 2005
33 Mauritius 0.19 2004
35 Jordan 0.19 2004
36 South Africa 0.19 2004
37 Mongolia 0.16 2010
38 Sudan 0.15 2004
39 Cabo Verde 0.14 2004
40 Nigeria 0.13 2008
41 Burkina Faso 0.13 2012
42 Cambodia 0.13 2004
43 Bolivia 0.12 2001
44 Pakistan 0.09 2015
45 Botswana 0.08 2009
46 Burundi 0.07 2004
47 Bhutan 0.07 2016
48 Liberia 0.06 2010
49 Thailand 0.06 2000
50 Australia 0.05 2006
51 Mozambique 0.05 2013
52 Estonia 0.03 2000
53 France 0.03 2007
54 Sierra Leone 0.02 2010
55 Chile 0.02 1992
56 Slovak Republic 0.02 2013
57 Chad 0.02 2004
58 Timor-Leste 0.01 2004
59 Mali 0.01 2010
60 Iraq 0.01 2004
61 Yemen 0.00 2010
62 Senegal 0.00 2016
62 Indonesia 0.00 2015

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Development Relevance: The WHO estimates that at least 2.5 medical staff (physicians, nurses and midwives) per 1,000 people are needed to provide adequate coverage with primary care interventions (WHO, World Health Report 2006).

Limitations and Exceptions: The WHO compiles data from household and labor force surveys, censuses, and administrative records. Data comparability is limited by differences in definitions and training of medical personnel varies. In addition, human resources tend to be concentrated in urban areas, so that average densities do not provide a full picture of health personnel available to the entire population.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Health systems - the combined arrangements of institutions and actions whose primary purpose is to promote, restore, or maintain health (World Health Organization, World Health Report 2000) - are increasingly being recognized as key to combating disease and improving the health status of populations. The World Bank's Healthy Development: Strategy for Health, Nutrition, and Population Results emphasizes the need to strengthen health systems, which are weak in many countries, in order to increase the effectiveness of programs aimed at reducing specific diseases and further reduce morbidity and mortality. To evaluate health systems, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that key components - such as financing, service delivery, workforce, governance, and information - be monitored using several key indicators. The data are a subset of the key indicators. Monitoring health systems allows the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of different health system models to be compared. Health system data also help identify weaknesses and strengths and areas that need investment, such as additional health facilities, better health information systems, or better trained human resources. Data on health worker (physicians, nurses and midwives, and community health workers) density show the availability of medical personnel.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual