Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Botswana
Botswana: Medical doctors per 1,000 people was 0.379 per 1,000 people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
0.379 per 1,000 people
Change on year
down 6.9%
World rank
148th
of 194 countries
All-time high
0.433 per 1,000 people
in 2020
All-time low
0.036 per 1,000 people
in 1965
Years of data
33
1960–2023
Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Botswana, 1960–2023
Source: World Health Organization (Global Health Workforce Statistics), OECD, and country data, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in per 1,000 people.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 0.379 per 1,000 people for medical doctors per 1,000 people in 2023.
The figure is down 6.9% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, medical doctors per 1,000 people in Botswana peaked at 0.433 per 1,000 people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.036 per 1,000 people, in 1965.
That places Botswana 148th out of 194 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Botswana, year by year
| Year | per 1,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.042 per 1,000 people | — |
| 1965 | 0.036 per 1,000 people | -14.3% |
| 1970 | 0.064 per 1,000 people | +77.8% |
| 1975 | 0.133 per 1,000 people | +107.8% |
| 1980 | 0.123 per 1,000 people | -7.5% |
| 1981 | 0.134 per 1,000 people | +8.9% |
| 1983 | 0.144 per 1,000 people | +7.5% |
| 1988 | 0.2 per 1,000 people | +38.9% |
| 1989 | 0.194 per 1,000 people | -3.0% |
| 1993 | 0.194 per 1,000 people | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.238 per 1,000 people | +22.7% |
| 1998 | 0.264 per 1,000 people | +10.9% |
| 1999 | 0.309 per 1,000 people | +17.0% |
| 2000 | 0.298 per 1,000 people | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 0.298 per 1,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.307 per 1,000 people | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 0.296 per 1,000 people | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 0.396 per 1,000 people | +33.8% |
| 2005 | 0.253 per 1,000 people | -36.1% |
| 2006 | 0.315 per 1,000 people | +24.5% |
| 2007 | 0.371 per 1,000 people | +17.8% |
| 2008 | 0.367 per 1,000 people | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 0.348 per 1,000 people | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 0.403 per 1,000 people | +15.8% |
| 2011 | 0.395 per 1,000 people | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 0.388 per 1,000 people | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 0.371 per 1,000 people | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 0.402 per 1,000 people | +8.4% |
| 2019 | 0.395 per 1,000 people | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.433 per 1,000 people | +9.6% |
| 2021 | 0.422 per 1,000 people | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 0.407 per 1,000 people | -3.6% |
| 2023 | 0.379 per 1,000 people | -6.9% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 0.379 per 1,000 people is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.84 per 1,000 people, 21% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 0.379 per 1,000 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.188 per 1,000 people, 2.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Botswana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +107.8% | 0.064 per 1,000 people | 0.133 per 1,000 people |
| 1970 | +77.8% | 0.036 per 1,000 people | 0.064 per 1,000 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.039 per 1,000 people | 0.036 per 1,000 people | 0.042 per 1,000 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.0985 per 1,000 people | 0.064 per 1,000 people | 0.133 per 1,000 people | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.159 per 1,000 people | 0.123 per 1,000 people | 0.2 per 1,000 people | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.2512 per 1,000 people | 0.194 per 1,000 people | 0.309 per 1,000 people | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.3249 per 1,000 people | 0.253 per 1,000 people | 0.396 per 1,000 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3923 per 1,000 people | 0.371 per 1,000 people | 0.403 per 1,000 people | 6 |
| 2020s | 0.4103 per 1,000 people | 0.379 per 1,000 people | 0.433 per 1,000 people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More health data for Botswana
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.75 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.2265 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,150 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 281 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.6484 % 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 0.0579 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.9109 % 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 per 1,000 people in Botswana?
- Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Botswana was 0.379 per 1,000 people in 2023, according to World Health Organization (Global Health Workforce Statistics), OECD, and country data, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest medical doctors per 1,000 people recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 0.433 per 1,000 people in 2020.
- What is the lowest medical doctors per 1,000 people recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.036 per 1,000 people in 1965.
- How does Botswana rank for medical doctors per 1,000 people?
- Botswana ranks 148th out of 194 countries with data for 2023.
- Is medical doctors per 1,000 people rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization (Global Health Workforce Statistics), OECD, and country data, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Medical doctors per 1,000 people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).