India has successfully achieved a doctor-population ratio of 1:811 : Union Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry has informed Parliament that India has successfully achieved a doctor-population ratio of 1:811, surpassing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended standard of 1:1,000.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda shared the data in the Rajya Sabha, stating that the calculation is based on the assumption that 80% of the country’s registered medical practitioners are actively in service.

The improved ratio is a result of combining the workforce of both modern medicine and traditional systems. The ministry revealed there are currently 13.88 lakh registered allopathic doctors and 7.51 lakh AYUSH practitioners (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) in the country. When tallied together, this substantial pool of healthcare professionals has pushed India well ahead of the global benchmark for doctor density.

Minister Nadda attributed this milestone to the government’s aggressive expansion of medical infrastructure over the last decade.

In the last 11 years, the number of medical colleges has more than doubled rising from 387 to 818 while MBBS seats have surged from approximately 51,000 to over 1.28 lakh. This rapid scaling of educational capacity has accelerated the inflow of new doctors, helping to address long-standing gaps in the healthcare workforce.

But The real question now is what will happen in the next five years, given that we’ve already surpassed the 1:1000 criterion. Share your thoughts below. 👇

December 11, 2025