Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people) - Country Ranking

Definition: Nurses and midwives include professional nurses, professional midwives, auxiliary nurses, auxiliary midwives, enrolled nurses, enrolled midwives and other associated personnel, such as dental nurses and primary care nurses.

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 Monaco 20.16 2014
2 Norway 18.35 2019
3 Switzerland 17.89 2018
4 Iceland 17.19 2019
5 United States 15.69 2018
6 Finland 14.88 2017
7 Germany 13.49 2018
8 Chile 13.32 2018
9 Australia 13.24 2019
10 Ireland 13.01 2018
11 Japan 12.70 2018
12 Sweden 12.58 2017
13 Luxembourg 12.17 2017
14 Canada 11.81 2019
15 Belgium 11.81 2015
16 Netherlands 11.49 2018
17 France 11.47 2018
18 Uzbekistan 11.28 2014
19 New Zealand 11.14 2018
20 Belarus 11.00 2015
21 Denmark 10.55 2018
22 United Kingdom 10.29 2019
23 Slovenia 10.22 2018
24 Malta 9.48 2018
25 Lithuania 9.45 2019
26 Czech Republic 8.42 2018
27 San Marino 8.21 2014
28 Nauru 7.85 2018
29 Cuba 7.56 2018
30 Korea 7.46 2018
31 Kuwait 7.41 2018
32 Brazil 7.40 2019
33 Kazakhstan 7.29 2015
34 Palau 7.26 2018
35 Uruguay 7.22 2019
36 Qatar 7.20 2018
37 Austria 7.09 2018
38 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 7.01 2018
39 Portugal 6.90 2018
40 Poland 6.89 2018
41 Ukraine 6.66 2014
42 Estonia 6.63 2018
43 Israel 6.60 2019
44 Libya 6.53 2017
45 Azerbaijan 6.43 2014
46 Singapore 6.24 2017
47 Tuvalu 6.21 2008
48 Croatia 6.19 2015
49 Dominica 6.10 2017
50 Romania 6.09 2016
51 Serbia 6.09 2016
52 Spain 6.08 2018
53 Slovak Republic 6.02 2018
54 Brunei 5.90 2018
55 Italy 5.89 2019
56 Saudi Arabia 5.82 2019
57 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.73 2018
58 United Arab Emirates 5.73 2018
59 Kyrgyz Republic 5.60 2019
60 Philippines 5.44 2019
61 Hungary 5.26 2019
62 Montenegro 5.23 2018
63 Georgia 5.22 2019
64 Albania 5.09 2019
65 Bulgaria 4.79 2018
66 Tajikistan 4.75 2014
67 Latvia 4.62 2019
68 The Bahamas 4.57 2018
69 Russia 4.53 2014
70 Seychelles 4.52 2012
71 Antigua and Barbuda 4.52 2018
72 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 4.45 2017
73 Turkmenistan 4.43 2014
74 Armenia 4.37 2018
75 Tonga 4.33 2019
76 Trinidad and Tobago 4.26 2016
77 St. Kitts and Nevis 4.22 2015
78 Mongolia 4.21 2018
79 Eswatini 4.14 2018
80 Oman 4.09 2019
81 Cyprus 4.03 2015
82 Andorra 4.01 2015
83 Fiji 3.96 2019
84 Moldova 3.93 2019
85 Kiribati 3.83 2018
86 Indonesia 3.81 2019
87 North Macedonia 3.79 2015
88 Greece 3.70 2018
89 Mauritius 3.52 2017
90 Malaysia 3.48 2019
91 Samoa 3.44 2019
92 Costa Rica 3.41 2018
93 Jordan 3.35 2019
94 Nepal 3.30 2019
95 Lesotho 3.26 2018
96 Panama 3.21 2019
97 St. Lucia 3.15 2017
98 Thailand 3.15 2019
99 Barbados 3.06 2018
100 Grenada 3.06 2017
101 Turkey 3.00 2018
102 Peru 2.98 2018
103 Gabon 2.95 2017
104 Botswana 2.85 2012
105 Suriname 2.76 2018
106 Ghana 2.71 2019
107 China 2.66 2017
108 Argentina 2.60 2017
109 Tunisia 2.51 2017
110 Ecuador 2.51 2018
111 Bahrain 2.49 2015
112 India 2.39 2019
113 Mexico 2.36 2019
114 Belize 2.34 2018
115 Sri Lanka 2.26 2019
116 Solomon Islands 2.16 2018
117 Iran 2.08 2018
118 Venezuela 2.07 2018
119 Iraq 2.04 2018
120 Namibia 1.95 2018
121 Zimbabwe 1.93 2018
122 Egypt 1.93 2018
123 São Tomé and Principe 1.92 2018
124 El Salvador 1.83 2018
125 Bhutan 1.83 2019
126 Timor-Leste 1.76 2019
127 Lebanon 1.67 2018
128 Bolivia 1.56 2017
129 Nicaragua 1.55 2017
130 Algeria 1.55 2018
131 Syrian Arab Republic 1.54 2016
132 Nigeria 1.50 2019
133 Jamaica 1.47 2017
134 Dominican Republic 1.46 2019
135 Vietnam 1.45 2016
136 Eritrea 1.44 2018
137 Vanuatu 1.42 2019
138 Morocco 1.39 2017
139 South Africa 1.31 2017
140 Cabo Verde 1.30 2018
141 Guatemala 1.28 2018
142 Uganda 1.24 2018
143 Kenya 1.17 2018
144 Sudan 1.15 2018
145 Dem. Rep. Congo 1.11 2018
146 Myanmar 1.08 2019
147 Zambia 1.02 2018
148 Cambodia 1.01 2019
149 Rwanda 0.95 2019
150 Congo 0.93 2016
151 Burkina Faso 0.93 2019
152 Mauritania 0.93 2018
153 Guyana 0.79 2017
154 Yemen 0.79 2018
155 Sierra Leone 0.75 2018
156 Paraguay 0.74 2017
157 Djibouti 0.73 2014
158 Honduras 0.73 2018
159 Lao PDR 0.72 2019
160 Ethiopia 0.71 2018
161 Guinea-Bissau 0.69 2018
162 Burundi 0.66 2019
163 Côte d'Ivoire 0.66 2019
164 Comoros 0.63 2016
165 The Gambia 0.61 2019
166 Colombia 0.59 2004
167 Tanzania 0.58 2017
168 Senegal 0.54 2019
169 Liberia 0.53 2018
170 Cameroon 0.53 2010
171 Equatorial Guinea 0.50 2017
172 Pakistan 0.48 2019
173 Mozambique 0.47 2019
174 Togo 0.46 2019
175 Papua New Guinea 0.45 2019
176 Afghanistan 0.45 2018
177 Mali 0.44 2018
178 Malawi 0.44 2018
179 Angola 0.41 2018
180 Haiti 0.40 2018
181 Bangladesh 0.39 2019
182 Benin 0.30 2019
183 Madagascar 0.30 2018
184 Niger 0.22 2018
185 Central African Republic 0.21 2015
186 Chad 0.14 2019
187 Guinea 0.12 2016
188 Somalia 0.11 2014

More rankings: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |

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