Global health workforce doubled since 1990, gaps remain
Key Insight
This study covers human healthcare staffing and has no connection to plants, gardening, or botany.
Researchers tracked how many doctors, nurses, midwives, and other health workers exist worldwide from 1990 to 2023. They found the workforce nearly tripled in size, with women driving most of that growth, but poorer regions like sub-Saharan Africa still don't have enough workers to meet basic health care needs.
Key Findings
The global health workforce grew from about 40.9 million in 1990 to 122.1 million in 2023, a 198.5% increase.
68.9% of all health workers in 2023 were female, and women accounted for 71.4% of net workforce growth since 1990.
To reach adequate universal health coverage, the world still needs 7.1 million more doctors and 23.9 million more nurses and midwives, among other shortfalls.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A global health study finds the world's healthcare workforce more than doubled since 1990, driven largely by women entering the field, but many countries still lack enough doctors, nurses, and pharmacists to provide basic universal health coverage.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Measuring the composition and availability of human resources for health by sex in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2023, and workforce gaps for universal health coverage: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023.
Understanding the size, gender composition, and cadre mix of the health workforce and how it has evolved across time and locations can inform policies for planning, recruitment, training, and reten...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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