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Health Care Professionals Employed in Direct Care per 100,000 Population, by Type of Professional and Jurisdiction

This indicator gives the rate of health care providers working in direct care per 100,000 population by type of provider, jurisdiction and Canada.

A measure of access to health care professionals

A low or high ratio may be desirable; 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, Region
Calculation

Calculated by dividing the number of health care professionals employed in the profession and working in direct care by population estimates and multiplying by 100,000

(Number of health care professionals employed in the profession and working in direct care ÷ Population estimate) × 100,000

Unit of Analysis: Service provider

Denominator

Total population in Canada or in a Canadian province/territory

Numerator

Number of health care professionals employed in the profession and working in direct care

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Name

Health Care Professionals Employed in Direct Care per 100,000 Population, by Type of Professional and Jurisdiction

Short/Other Names

Health Care Professional Density, Canada

Description

Health care professionals working in direct care per 100,000 population by type of professional, jurisdiction and Canada

Rationale

Based on World Health Organization (WHO) National Health Workforce Accounts indicator 1-02: Density of Active Health Workers per 1,000 Population, by Cadre, this indicator provides health worker density and distribution information. It supports the assessment of health services available and resources deployed and facilitates health human resources planning.

Interpretation

A measure of access to health care professionals

A low or high ratio may be desirable; 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

Available Data Years

to

Geographic Coverage

  • All provinces/territories

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • National
  • Province/Territory
  • Region
  • 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 employed in the profession and working in direct care by population estimates and multiplying by 100,000

(Number of health care professionals employed in the profession and working in direct care ÷ Population estimate) × 100,000

Unit of Analysis: Service provider

Type of Measurement

Rate - Rate per 100,000

Denominator

Description:

Total population in Canada or in a Canadian province/territory

Inclusions:

Canadian or provincial/territorial population estimates from Statistics Canada

Numerator

Description:

Number of health care professionals employed in the profession and working in direct care

Inclusions:

  • Active registered health care professionals employed in the profession and working in direct care.

Additional inclusion criteria vary by type of professional.

Exclusions:

  • Health care professionals not employed in the profession.
  • Health care professionals employed in education, research and administration.
  • Inactive registrants or health care professionals who did not register in a province or territory.

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 Professionals Employed in Direct Care per 100,000 Population, by Type of Professional and Jurisdiction. Accessed April 24, 2025.