Medical doctors in China
China: Medical doctors was 4.01 million in 2023. ▲ Rising
Medical doctors in China, 1978–2023
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
China recorded 4.01 million for medical doctors in 2023. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
The figure is up 7.7% on the previous year and up 75.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, medical doctors in China peaked at 4.01 million in 2023 and was at its lowest, 609,608, in 1978.
China ranks 1st of 187 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Medical doctors in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 609,608 | — |
| 1980 | 709,473 | +16.4% |
| 1985 | 724,238 | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 1.30 million | +79.9% |
| 1995 | 1.45 million | +11.7% |
| 1996 | 1.48 million | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 1.51 million | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 1.51 million | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 1.56 million | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 1.60 million | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 1.64 million | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 1.46 million | -10.6% |
| 2003 | 1.53 million | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 1.58 million | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 1.62 million | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 1.68 million | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 1.72 million | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 1.79 million | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 1.91 million | +6.3% |
| 2010 | 1.97 million | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 2.02 million | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 2.14 million | +5.9% |
| 2013 | 2.29 million | +6.9% |
| 2014 | 2.37 million | +3.9% |
| 2015 | 2.51 million | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 2.65 million | +5.7% |
| 2017 | 2.83 million | +6.7% |
| 2018 | 3.01 million | +6.4% |
| 2019 | 3.21 million | +6.6% |
| 2020 | 3.40 million | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 3.59 million | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 3.72 million | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 4.01 million | +7.7% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 4.01 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21,776, 184.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 4.01 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3,202, 1252.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Medical doctors in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +79.9% | 724,238 | 1.30 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 609,608 | 609,608 | 609,608 | 1 |
| 1980s | 716,856 | 709,473 | 724,238 | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.47 million | 1.30 million | 1.56 million | 6 |
| 2000s | 1.65 million | 1.46 million | 1.91 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.50 million | 1.97 million | 3.21 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.68 million | 3.40 million | 4.01 million | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More health data for China
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.15 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.0985 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,029 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,642 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 10 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -8.22 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0159 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -8.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is medical doctors in China?
- Medical doctors in China was 4.01 million in 2023, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
- What is the highest medical doctors recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 4.01 million in 2023.
- What is the lowest medical doctors recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 609,608 in 1978.
- How does China rank for medical doctors?
- China ranks 1st out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is medical doctors rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 75.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Medical doctors (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).