HEALTH CARE IN INDIA

As of recent data there are 23,500 to 26,000 government hospitals in India. These include primary health centres, community health centres, District Hospitals etc 

As per the modern rankings of WHO (2024-2026) Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are the top countries for health care in Asia. According to a UK based organisation's survey Japan provides the best health care in the world followed by Singapore, South Korea, Norway and Taiwan.

Top countries for number of hospital beds per 1,000 people (as per 2025-26 data)

South Korea 12.65

Japan 12 63

Germany 7.82

Austria 7.05

Hungary 6.76

Czechia 6.50

India ranks 155 among 167 countries with 0.52 - 1.4 beds per 1,000 population. This is significantly below the recommended number of beds by the WHO.

As far as number of doctors are concerned Cuba is on top with 95 doctors per 10,000 population. Followed by:

Monaco 86

Seychelles 66

Greece 66

Belgium 65

As per estimated account of 2025-26 India has 1 doctor per 811 people.

As far as nurses are concerned Finland, Monaco, Norway, Iceland, Belgium and Switzerland consistently rank on top on number of nurses with 15 - 20 per 1,000 population. As informed by the Indian Council of Nurses there are 2.23 nurses per thousand population in India.

Based on the available data between 2024 - 2026 a significant share of population in India face it hard to meet the medical expenditure and the insurance coverage.

Now it is inevitable that the central and state governments should ensure to make the health care to reach the entire population of the country at an affordable price.

K V George 

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