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The data

The gap is real, and it is measurable.

How many doctors and nurses each country has, per 1,000 people. Figures load live from the World Bank, so they stay current.

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Doctors per 1,000 people

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SH.MED.PHYS.ZS and SH.MED.NUMW.P3), latest available year per country. Dashed lines mark the world and OECD averages. Health-workforce data is reported yearly, not moment to moment; this shows the most recent figure the World Bank publishes.

Where U.S. physician shortages are heading

Projected total U.S. physician shortfall. Source: HRSA, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. Hover a bar for the figure.

Real data: more doctors, better outcomes

U.S. counties grouped into ten equal bands by primary-care supply. Real data (County Health Rankings 2026). This is a correlation (r = −0.24), not proof of cause; isolating the causal effect on a specific program is what ACWIS does on partner data.

The United States, up close

Down to the county.

Shortages are local. This map shows primary-care physicians per 100,000 people for every U.S. county with data. Counties in red have the fewest doctors per person and sit at or below the federal shortage line; green counties are the best served. Hover any county for its figure.

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counties below HRSA's shortage line of one primary-care physician per 3,500 people
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the median county has this many primary-care physicians per 100,000
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Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2026 release, from the Area Health Resources File (AHRF), U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Rate is primary-care physicians per 100,000 residents. The shortage line marks a 3,500:1 population-to-physician ratio, HRSA's primary-care threshold.