Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently claimed that Delhi has the highest number of doctors in the world — three doctors per 1,000 people. But World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank data suggest otherwise. There are at least 30 countries with more than three doctors per 1,000 people, as per data from both organisations.
According to WHO’s ‘World Health Statistics 2022’ report, Cuba has the highest ratio of doctors to people — 84.2 doctors per 10,000 people (8.4 doctors per 1,000 people). And there are dozens of countries, including Sweden, Norway, Italy, Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago, which have more than 30 doctors per 10,000 population.
As per World Bank data as well, Cuba has the highest doctors-to-people ratio, and there are more than 45 countries with more than three doctors per 1,000 people.
Addressing a Republic Day function organised by the Delhi government on January 25, Mr. Kejriwal had said, “Our Delhi has become the country’s health capital. It has the highest number of doctors not just in India, but in the world. In Delhi, there are three doctors per 1,000 people.”
“This is more than America, more than England, more than Canada and more than Japan. There, it’s less than 2.5 [doctors] and we have more than three doctors per 1,000. Delhi has left behind big, big nations,” he added.
But as per World Bank figures, the U.K. has 5.8 doctors per 1,000 people, the U.S. 2.6, Japan 2.5, and Canada 2.4.
Meanwhile, the WHO figures state that the U.K. has 30 doctors per 10,000 people and the U.S. has 26.1, Canada 24.4, and Japan 24.8. WHO prescribes one doctor for every 1,000 individuals.
When asked about Mr. Kejriwal’s claim, both the World Bank and WHO did not offer a comment.
Multiple attempts to contact the Delhi government spokesperson on the issue didn’t elicit a response.
‘Not backed by data’
Dr. Dileep Mavalankar, a public health expert and director of one of the five institutes of the Public Health Foundation of India, also agreed that it wouldn’t be right to say that Delhi has the highest ratio of doctors to people. “Many politicians have this habit of saying things that are not backed by data,” he said.
He added it was also not fair to compare Delhi to other countries as it will be like “comparing apples and oranges”. “You should be comparing Delhi with capitals of other countries since the concentration of doctors tends to be higher in world capitals, which are usually bigger cities,” he said.
Dr. Mavalankar also said another problem with the comparison is that the majority of doctors in Delhi are working in private hospitals and not accessible to poor people.
“Whereas in a country like Cuba, almost all doctors are in the public health system and accessible to everyone. Similarly in the UK, most of the doctors are in the public system,” he added.
