The report from World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa are the leading countries in Africa with the highest number of doctors. According to WHO, Nigeria tops with 74,543 doctors, Algeria-72,604 and South Africa with 46.393 doctors. However, most countries in Africa still fall short in the doctor-to-patient ratio as the number of doctors per 10,000 people tells a different story.

The population of Africa has been growing at a rate of 2.5% year-on-year over the last two decades. By 2050, it may reach 2.4 billion despite being served by only 2% of the total number of doctors in the world.

There are not enough medical doctors in Africa to meet the health needs of its growing population. The ratio of doctors to patient, on average, is 1 doctor for 10,000 people. Estimated figures show that Africa has a shortage of 2.3 million doctors and will increase to a shortage of around 4.3 million doctors by 2035.

Breakdown

According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) NHWA Data Platform, Nigeria has the highest number of medical doctors in Africa. With 74,543 medical doctors to cater to a population of over 210 million; its doctor to patient ratio is 1:2,800. Algeria, in second, has 72,604 medical doctors catering to a population of 44 million; a doctor to patient ratio of 1:606.

South Africa is third on the list, with 46,393 medical doctors to attend to the health needs of 61 million people. South Africa’s doctor to patient ratio is 1:1,314.9.

DR Congo and Ethiopia complete the top five countries with the highest number of medical doctors in Africa. DR Congo has 31,546 medical doctors for its 95.24 million people, with one doctor attending to 3,019.1 patients. Ethiopia has 12,174 medical doctors to cater for 117 million people; a doctor to patient ratio of 1:9,610.

Number of Medical Doctors (per 10,000 population)

From the WHO NHWA Data Platform, Mauritius leads other African countries on the continent with 27.13 doctors per 10,000 population. Seychelles is next with 22.51 doctors per 10,000 population. Libya is third with 20.9 doctors per 10,000 population.

Algeria has 17.19 doctors per 10,000 population and Tunisia has 13.02 doctors per 10,000 population. These are the only countries outside of the top three to have over 10 doctors, but less than 20, per 10,000 population.

Cape Verde, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Namibia feature in the top 10 with 8.31, 7.92, 7.46, 7.31 and 5.9 doctors per 10,000 population, respectively.

Other Insight

Nigeria and other African countries remain far below WHO recommendations on the required number of medical personnel to cater to its teeming population.

The growing population in African countries will continue to drive the need for excellent quality and accessible healthcare services to attain the UHC. The target to attain UHC by 2030 is part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.

Topic: Population

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