Health statistics - Regions (for 'Developer API') — Active physicians by country
<p style="text-align: justify;">This dataset provides the whole set of <strong>OECD regional health indicators</strong> in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions. It is recommended for users who wish to query a large amount of data. It is not designed for visualising results using the Table and Chart buttons. To...
What the numbers show
Health statistics - Regions (for 'Developer API') — Active physicians is currently reported for 44 countries. The highest value is 6.74 Per 1 000 inhabitants in Greece; the lowest is 0.69 Per 1 000 inhabitants in Costa Rica.
The median across all reporting countries is 3.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants, and the mean is 3.91 Per 1 000 inhabitants.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 10.
Over the past decade 42 countries rose and 2 fell. The largest increase was in Chile (up 186.0%), and the largest decrease in Mexico (down 41.0%).
Health statistics - Regions (for 'Developer API') — Active physicians: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 6.74 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.8% | rising |
| 2 | Portugal | 5.98 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 3 | Italy | 5.65 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 44.9% | rising |
| 4 | Austria | 5.64 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 5 | Montenegro | 5.46 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 30.6% | rising |
| 6 | Norway | 5.07 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 7 | Russia | 4.89 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | down 2.0% | rising |
| 8 | Czechia | 4.84 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 26.4% | rising |
| 9 | Switzerland | 4.73 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.5% | rising |
| 10 | Lithuania | 4.67 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 11 | Germany | 4.66 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 12 | Spain | 4.64 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 13 | Sweden | 4.63 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 14.6% | rising |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 4.63 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 15 | Denmark | 4.56 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 16 | Hungary | 4.51 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 17 | Australia | 4.49 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 23.4% | rising |
| 18 | Cyprus | 4.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 49.5% | rising |
| 19 | Croatia | 4.1 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 29.3% | rising |
| 20 | Ireland | 4.09 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2025 | up 30.3% | rising |
| 21 | Malta | 3.98 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2018 | up 30.5% | rising |
| 22 | Netherlands | 3.91 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 18.1% | rising |
| 23 | Iceland | 3.89 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 24 | Poland | 3.86 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 67.1% | rising |
| 25 | Romania | 3.81 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 41.1% | rising |
| 26 | Estonia | 3.58 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 6.5% | rising |
| 27 | Slovenia | 3.57 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 28.9% | rising |
| 28 | Finland | 3.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2021 | up 7.4% | rising |
| 28 | Israel | 3.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 19.9% | falling |
| 30 | France | 3.44 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2025 | up 3.6% | flat |
| 31 | Latvia | 3.41 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 32 | New Zealand | 3.4 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 37.7% | rising |
| 33 | Serbia | 3.28 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 34 | United States | 3.23 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2022 | up 30.8% | falling |
| 35 | Belgium | 3.02 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 2.0% | falling |
| 36 | Luxembourg | 2.98 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2017 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 37 | United Kingdom | 2.95 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 38 | Peru | 2.83 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 34.8% | rising |
| 39 | Japan | 2.7 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 40 | Chile | 2.46 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2022 | up 186.0% | volatile |
| 41 | Canada | 2.41 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 42 | Colombia | 2.34 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2020 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 43 | Mexico | 1.02 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | down 41.0% | rising |
| 44 | Costa Rica | 0.69 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2021 | up 30.2% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Slovak Republic 3.95 Per 1 000 inhabitants
- Korea 2.74 Per 1 000 inhabitants
- China (People's Republic of) 2.04 Per 1 000 inhabitants
About this data
<p style="text-align: justify;">This dataset provides the whole set of <strong>OECD regional health indicators</strong> in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions. It is recommended for users who wish to query a large amount of data. It is not designed for visualising results using the Table and Chart buttons. To access the ‘Developer API query builder’, click on the ‘Developer API’ button above.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The application programming interface (API), based on the SDMX standard, allows a developer to access the data using simple RESTful URL and HTTP header options for various choices of response formats including JSON. The query filter is generated according to the current data selection. To change the data selection, use the filters on the left.<br /><br />To get started check the <a href="https://gitlab.algobank.oecd.org/public-documentation/dotstat-migration/-/raw/main/OECD_Data_API_documentation.pdf">API documentation</a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Indicators covered</strong></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Healthcare resources</span>: physicians, practising nurses, hospital beds and hospital discharges.</li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Health status</span>: life expectancy, infant mortality rate, crude mortality rate, age-adjusted mortality rate.</li> <li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Health risks</span>: obesity, mortality due circulatory and respiratory diseases, air pollution.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Definition of regions</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). For more information, see the OECD Territorial Grid <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD_territorial-grid_TL2024.pdf">(pdf)</a> and the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD%20Territorial%20correspondence%20-%20TL2024c.xlsx">(xlsx)</a>. </p> <p><strong>Cite this dataset</strong></p> <p>OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database <a href="http://oe.cd/geostats">http://oe.cd/geostats</a>.</p> <p><strong>Further information</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://regions-cities-atlas.oecd.org/">OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html">OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance</a></li> </ul> <p>For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:RegionStat@oecd.org">RegionStat@oecd.org</a>.</p>