‘India’s doctor-population ratio improves to 1:811’

India’s doctor-to-population ratio has improved to one doctor for every 811 people, surpassing the benchmark of one doctor per 1,000 population often cited as the World Health Organization’s norm, the Union government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav said the estimate is based on the latest data from Health Dynamics of India (Infrastructure & Human Resources) 2022–23, which uses health administrative data reported by states and union territories. The figure assumes that 80 % of the registered medical workforce is actively practising.

According to the government’s response:

• India currently has 13,88,185 registered allopathic doctors and 7,51,768 registered AYUSH practitioners.
• With the assumption that 80 % of these professionals are available for service, the overall doctor-population ratio works out to 1:811, which is better than the commonly referenced WHO norm of 1:1,000.

Jadhav also shared figures on nursing strength, noting that, based on Indian Nursing Council data, the nurse-to-population ratio is estimated at 2.23 nurses per 1,000 population, considering an 80 % active workforce.