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Health Care Professional Supply by Employment Status and Type of Professional, per 100,000 Population

This indicator gives the rate of health care providers by employment status, per 100,000 population, by type of provider for selected provinces/territories.

Measures the potential pool of health care professionals; interpretations should be evaluated alongside other relevant data (e.g., population need, models of care, mix of health care professionals).

Data updated:
Data availability: to
Geographic coverage
All provinces/territories
Reporting level
National, Province/Territory
Calculation

Calculated by dividing the number of health care professionals with each employment status for selected provinces/territories by population estimates and multiplying by 100,000

(Number of health care professionals by employment status in selected provinces/territories ÷ Population estimate) × 100,000

Unit of Analysis: Service provider per 100,000 population

Denominator

Total population of selected provinces/territories

Numerator

Number of health care professionals, by employment status, in selected provinces/territories

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Name

Health Care Professional Supply by Employment Status and Type of Professional, per 100,000 Population

Short/Other Names

Health Care Professional Density by Employment Status

Description

Health care professionals by employment status, per 100,000 population, by type of professional for selected provinces/territories

Rationale

Based on World Health Organization (WHO) National Health Workforce Accounts indicator 1-04: Density of Active Health Workers per 1,000 Population, by Cadre, by Activity Level (Practising, Professionally Active, Licensed to Practice), this indicator provides health worker density and distribution information to support the assessment of health services available for the population in certain geographic districts and to facilitate health human resources planning.

Interpretation

Measures the potential pool of health care professionals; interpretations should be evaluated alongside other relevant data (e.g., population need, models of care, mix of health care professionals).

HSP Framework Dimension

Health system inputs and characteristics: Efficient allocation of resources

Areas of Need

Not applicable

Targets/Benchmarks

WHO: Health worker density and distribution by cadre and activity level

Available Data Years

to

Geographic Coverage

  • All provinces/territories

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • National
  • Province/Territory
  • Professional; may be further aggregated by age, highest level of education, setting of employment, urban/rural/remote, etc.

Indicator Results

Health workforce data tables
 

Update Frequency

Every year

Latest Results Update Date

Updates

Not applicable

Description

Calculated by dividing the number of health care professionals with each employment status for selected provinces/territories by population estimates and multiplying by 100,000

(Number of health care professionals by employment status in selected provinces/territories ÷ Population estimate) × 100,000

Unit of Analysis: Service provider per 100,000 population

Type of Measurement

Rate - Rate per 100,000

Denominator

Description:

Total population of selected provinces/territories

Inclusions:

  • Provincial and territorial population estimate from Statistics Canada

Numerator

Description:

Number of health care professionals, by employment status, in selected provinces/territories

Inclusions:

  • All registered health care professionals in selected provinces/territories

Exclusions:

  • Health care professionals who did not register in selected Canadian provinces/territories.

Additional exclusion criteria vary by type of professional.

Method of Adjustment

Not applicable

Adjustment Applied

None

Geographic Assignment

Place of service

Data Sources

  • HWDB

Caveats and Limitations

CIHI uses the unit of analysis "per 100,000 population," which is different from the WHO's "density per 1,000 population." Caution should be used when comparing results across countries.

Statistics reported may differ from those reported by other organizations due to differences in data collection and reporting methodologies.

Issues of under- and/or over-coverage may vary by type of professional.

Data is not necessarily available for each province and territory for each type of professional.

Trending Issues

Population estimates may change over time.

Vary by type of professional

Comments

Please note that the available data years, geographic coverage, reporting level/disaggregation and update frequency vary by type of professional.

“Available data year” can refer to data year (for nurses) or to reporting year (for occupational therapists, physiotherapists and pharmacists).

References

World Health Organization. National Health Workforce Accounts: A Handbook. 2016.

World Health Organization. Global Strategy on Health Resources for Health: Workforce 2030. 2016.

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Health Care Professional Supply by Employment Status and Type of Professional, per 100,000 Population. Accessed April 25, 2025.