Countries in Africa Ranked by Nurses and midwives per 1,000 (2022)
Nurses and midwives per 1,000: each country's latest value (2017–2022), ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).
Summary
Seychelles ranks #1 with 7.32 per 1,000 people (2023). South Africa is second with 6.39 per 1,000 people, 14.5% behind. The top five are Seychelles, South Africa, Libya, Namibia and Eswatini. The median across all 53 is 1.17 per 1,000 people; Chad is last at 0.167 per 1,000 people. Seychelles's figure has risen 1% since 2004 (7.19 per 1,000 people to 7.29 per 1,000 people in 2022).
- #1
- Seychelles · 7.32 per 1,000 people
- Median
- 1.17 per 1,000 people
- Coverage
- 53 countries in Africa
- Data year
- 2022
- Last updated
- 2026-11-14
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | Nurses and midwives per 1,000 (per 1,000 people) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seychelles | 7.32 | 2023 |
| 2 | South Africa | 6.39 | 2022 |
| 3 | Libya | 6.38 | 2017 |
| 4 | Namibia | 5.39 | 2022 |
| 5 | Eswatini | 4.26 | 2023 |
| 6 | Ghana | 4.11 | 2023 |
| 7 | Mauritius | 4.05 | 2022 |
| 8 | Zimbabwe | 3.07 | 2022 |
| 9 | Botswana | 3.02 | 2023 |
| 10 | Zambia | 2.94 | 2022 |
| 11 | Algeria | 2.51 | 2022 |
| 12 | Gabon | 2.37 | 2022 |
| 13 | Kenya | 2.27 | 2023 |
| 14 | Uganda | 2.27 | 2022 |
| 15 | São Tomé and Principe | 2.17 | 2022 |
| 16 | Tunisia | 2.16 | 2021 |
| 17 | Angola | 1.87 | 2022 |
| 18 | Cabo Verde | 1.8 | 2023 |
| 19 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 1.79 | 2018 |
| 20 | Lesotho | 1.76 | 2022 |
| 21 | Nigeria | 1.65 | 2022 |
| 22 | Comoros | 1.64 | 2022 |
| 23 | Mauritania | 1.61 | 2022 |
| 24 | Eritrea | 1.54 | 2022 |
| 25 | Equatorial Guinea | 1.38 | 2022 |
| 26 | Ethiopia | 1.22 | 2022 |
| 27 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 1.17 | 2022 |
| 28 | Sierra Leone | 1.16 | 2022 |
| 29 | Congo, Rep. | 1.12 | 2022 |
| 30 | Rwanda | 1.11 | 2022 |
| 31 | Central African Republic | 1.1 | 2023 |
| 32 | Sudan | 1.08 | 2018 |
| 33 | Liberia | 1.01 | 2022 |
| 34 | Guinea-Bissau | 0.99 | 2022 |
| 35 | Burkina Faso | 0.949 | 2023 |
| 36 | Mozambique | 0.934 | 2022 |
| 37 | Morocco | 0.869 | 2023 |
| 38 | Burundi | 0.794 | 2023 |
| 39 | Côte d'Ivoire | 0.793 | 2023 |
| 40 | Tanzania | 0.693 | 2023 |
| 41 | South Sudan | 0.691 | 2022 |
| 42 | Cameroon | 0.659 | 2022 |
| 43 | Gambia, The | 0.658 | 2023 |
| 44 | Benin | 0.611 | 2023 |
| 45 | Malawi | 0.507 | 2022 |
| 46 | Togo | 0.494 | 2022 |
| 47 | Senegal | 0.424 | 2023 |
| 48 | Guinea | 0.421 | 2022 |
| 49 | Niger | 0.421 | 2023 |
| 50 | Madagascar | 0.281 | 2022 |
| 51 | Mali | 0.268 | 2023 |
| 52 | Djibouti | 0.194 | 2022 |
| 53 | Chad | 0.167 | 2023 |
About the top 10
#1 Seychelles
Seychelles ranks #1 on this list with 7.32 per 1,000 people (2023).
- Capital
- Victoria
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- High income
- Population
- 122,730 people (2025)
- GDP
- US$2.39 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$19,449 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 76.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 45.5% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in protected terrestrial area share · #3 in physicians per 1,000 · #8 in male population share.
#2 South Africa
South Africa ranks #2 on this list with 6.39 per 1,000 people.
- Capital
- Pretoria, Cape Town
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 64.75 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$427.18 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$6,598 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 66.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 63.8% of population (2025)
Largest cities: City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Johannesburg, Cape Town.
Also ranks #2 in unemployment rate · #2 in youth unemployment rate · #2 in income share of richest 10%.
#3 Libya
Libya ranks #3 on this list with 6.38 per 1,000 people (2017).
- Capital
- Tripoli
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 7.46 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$48.1 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$6,449 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 71.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 87.9% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Tripoli.
Also ranks #1 in natural resource rents share of gdp · #1 in oil rents share of gdp · #2 in industry value added share of gdp.
#4 Namibia
Namibia ranks #4 on this list with 5.39 per 1,000 people.
- Capital
- Windhoek
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 3.09 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$15.08 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$4,876 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 67.5 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 50.9% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in women in ministerial positions share · #2 in tax revenue share of gdp · #4 in education expenditure share of gdp.
#5 Eswatini
Eswatini ranks #5 on this list with 4.26 per 1,000 people (2023).
- Capital
- Mbabane, Lobamba
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 1.26 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$5.16 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$4,108 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 64.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 26.7% of population (2025)
Also ranks #1 in unemployment rate · #1 in hiv prevalence · #3 in youth unemployment rate.
#6 Ghana
Ghana ranks #6 on this list with 4.11 per 1,000 people (2023).
- Capital
- Accra
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 35.06 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$114.21 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$3,257 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 65.7 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 58.9% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Kumasi, Accra.
Also ranks #11 in deposit interest rate · #14 in inflation rate · #21 in forest rents share of gdp.
#7 Mauritius
Mauritius ranks #7 on this list with 4.05 per 1,000 people.
- Capital
- Port Louis
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 1.24 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$16.16 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$12,991 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 73.8 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 39% of population (2025)
Also ranks #6 in cereal yield · #11 in low-birthweight babies share · #15 in population density.
#8 Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe ranks #8 on this list with 3.07 per 1,000 people.
- Capital
- Harare
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 16.95 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$51.22 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$3,021 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 63.1 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 40.5% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Harare, Masvingo.
Also ranks #2 in lending interest rate · #3 in inflation rate · #4 in income share of richest 10%.
#9 Botswana
Botswana ranks #9 on this list with 3.02 per 1,000 people (2023).
- Capital
- Gaborone
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Upper middle income
- Population
- 2.56 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$19.93 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$7,778 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 69.3 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 68% of population (2025)
Also ranks #4 in unemployment rate · #4 in hiv prevalence · #5 in youth unemployment rate.
#10 Zambia
Zambia ranks #10 on this list with 2.94 per 1,000 people.
- Capital
- Lusaka
- Continent
- Africa
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Population
- 21.91 million people (2025)
- GDP
- US$28.88 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$1,318 (2025)
- Life expectancy
- 66.5 years (2024)
- Urban population
- 45.9% of population (2025)
Largest cities: Lusaka.
Also ranks #2 in mineral rents share of gdp · #3 in gini index · #4 in prevalence of undernourishment.
Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.
Source and method
Nurses and midwives per 1,000: each country's latest value (2017–2022), ranked from highest to lowest.
Source: The World Bank, indicator SH.MED.NUMW.P3. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.
The World Bank: Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people): Global Health Workforce Statistics, World Health Organization (WHO) (via World Development Indicators)
Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: Global Health Workforce Statistics, World Health Organization (WHO); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Country data.
Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.