Physicians per 1000 people in Botswana
Botswana: Physicians per 1000 people was 0.379 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Physicians per 1000 people in Botswana, 1960–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Botswana recorded 0.379 for physicians per 1000 people in 2023.
The figure is down 6.9% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, physicians per 1000 people in Botswana peaked at 0.433 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.036, 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.
Physicians per 1000 people in Botswana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.042 | — |
| 1965 | 0.036 | -14.3% |
| 1970 | 0.064 | +77.8% |
| 1975 | 0.133 | +107.8% |
| 1980 | 0.123 | -7.5% |
| 1981 | 0.134 | +8.9% |
| 1983 | 0.144 | +7.5% |
| 1988 | 0.2 | +38.9% |
| 1989 | 0.194 | -3.0% |
| 1993 | 0.194 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.238 | +22.7% |
| 1998 | 0.264 | +10.9% |
| 1999 | 0.309 | +17.0% |
| 2000 | 0.298 | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 0.298 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.307 | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 0.296 | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 0.396 | +33.8% |
| 2005 | 0.253 | -36.1% |
| 2006 | 0.315 | +24.5% |
| 2007 | 0.371 | +17.8% |
| 2008 | 0.367 | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 0.348 | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 0.403 | +15.8% |
| 2011 | 0.395 | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 0.388 | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 0.371 | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 0.402 | +8.4% |
| 2019 | 0.395 | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.433 | +9.6% |
| 2021 | 0.422 | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 0.407 | -3.6% |
| 2023 | 0.379 | -6.9% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 0.379 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.84, 21% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 0.379 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.188, 2.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Physicians per 1000 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 | 0.133 |
| 1970 | +77.8% | 0.036 | 0.064 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.039 | 0.036 | 0.042 | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.0985 | 0.064 | 0.133 | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.159 | 0.123 | 0.2 | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.2512 | 0.194 | 0.309 | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.3249 | 0.253 | 0.396 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3923 | 0.371 | 0.403 | 6 |
| 2020s | 0.4103 | 0.379 | 0.433 | 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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 281 (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)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0591 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is physicians per 1000 people in Botswana?
- Physicians per 1000 people in Botswana was 0.379 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest physicians per 1000 people recorded in Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 0.433 in 2020.
- What is the lowest physicians per 1000 people recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.036 in 1965.
- How does Botswana rank for physicians per 1000 people?
- Botswana ranks 148th out of 194 countries with data for 2023.
- Is physicians per 1000 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Physicians per 1000 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).