{"id":1205113,"name":"Specialist surgical workforce (per 100,000 population)","unit":"per 100,000 population","createdAt":"2026-03-01T08:24:28.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-12T18:50:20.000Z","coverage":"","timespan":"2008-2018","datasetId":7396,"columnOrder":0,"shortName":"sh_med_saop_p5","catalogPath":"grapher/worldbank_wdi/2026-02-27/wdi/wdi#sh_med_saop_p5","descriptionFromProducer":"Specialist surgical workforce is the number of specialist surgical, anaesthetic, and obstetric (SAO) providers who are working in each country per 100,000 population.\n\n### Aggregation method:\nWeighted average\n\n### Statistical concept and methodology:\nMethodology: The number of specialist surgical, anaesthetic, and obstetric (SAO) providers who are working in each country per 100 000 population.\nStatistical concept(s): The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, assembled in 2013 to assess surgical care around the world. Commissioners engaged in an iterative global consultative process with partners in over 110 countries to develop six core indicators of the strength of a surgical system. Two indicators assess a country’s preparedness to deliver safe surgery and anesthesia, two assess the current delivery of safe care, and two assess the state of financial risk protection for those seeking surgery.\n\n### Development relevance:\nBillions people lack access to safe and affordable surgical, anesthesia and obstetric (SAO) care while a third of the global burden of disease requires surgical and/or anesthesia decision-making or treatment. Treating the sick very often requires surgery and anesthesia. Despite such huge burden of disease, safe and affordable SAO care is often overlooked.\n\n### Limitations and exceptions:\nPrior to 2015, global data on surgery, anesthesia and obstetric care was virtually nonexistent. With the idea that “We can’t manage what we don’t measure”, the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery developed six Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia (SAO) indicators and collected data for them. The analysis of these data show large gaps in SAO care across countries by income groups.","type":"float","dataChecksum":"9023640068527038032","metadataChecksum":"7509599225110355621","datasetName":"World Development Indicators","updatePeriodDays":365,"datasetVersion":"2026-02-27","nonRedistributable":false,"display":{"unit":"per 100,000 population"},"schemaVersion":2,"presentation":{},"dimensions":{"years":{"values":[{"id":2014},{"id":2010},{"id":2013},{"id":2018},{"id":2015},{"id":2017},{"id":2012},{"id":2016},{"id":2011},{"id":2009},{"id":2008}]},"entities":{"values":[{"id":15,"name":"Afghanistan","code":"AFG"},{"id":16,"name":"Albania","code":"ALB"},{"id":17,"name":"Algeria","code":"DZA"},{"id":18,"name":"Andorra","code":"AND"},{"id":20,"name":"Antigua and Barbuda","code":"ATG"},{"id":21,"name":"Argentina","code":"ARG"},{"id":22,"name":"Armenia","code":"ARM"},{"id":23,"name":"Australia","code":"AUS"},{"id":24,"name":"Austria","code":"AUT"},{"id":25,"name":"Azerbaijan","code":"AZE"},{"id":27,"name":"Bahrain","code":"BHR"},{"id":28,"name":"Bangladesh","code":"BGD"},{"id":29,"name":"Barbados","code":"BRB"},{"id":30,"name":"Belarus","code":"BLR"},{"id":4,"name":"Belgium","code":"BEL"},{"id":31,"name":"Belize","code":"BLZ"},{"id":32,"name":"Benin","code":"BEN"},{"id":33,"name":"Bhutan","code":"BTN"},{"id":34,"name":"Bolivia","code":"BOL"},{"id":35,"name":"Bosnia and Herzegovina","code":"BIH"},{"id":36,"name":"Botswana","code":"BWA"},{"id":37,"name":"Brazil","code":"BRA"},{"id":39,"name":"Bulgaria","code":"BGR"},{"id":40,"name":"Burkina Faso","code":"BFA"},{"id":41,"name":"Burundi","code":"BDI"},{"id":42,"name":"Cambodia","code":"KHM"},{"id":43,"name":"Cameroon","code":"CMR"},{"id":44,"name":"Canada","code":"CAN"},{"id":45,"name":"Cape Verde","code":"CPV"},{"id":197,"name":"Cayman Islands","code":"CYM"},{"id":174,"name":"Central African Republic","code":"CAF"},{"id":173,"name":"Chad","code":"TCD"},{"id":304,"name":"Channel Islands","code":"OWID_CIS"},{"id":172,"name":"Chile","code":"CHL"},{"id":171,"name":"China","code":"CHN"},{"id":170,"name":"Colombia","code":"COL"},{"id":168,"name":"Congo","code":"COG"},{"id":166,"name":"Costa Rica","code":"CRI"},{"id":143,"name":"Cote d'Ivoire","code":"CIV"},{"id":165,"name":"Croatia","code":"HRV"},{"id":164,"name":"Cuba","code":"CUB"},{"id":163,"name":"Cyprus","code":"CYP"},{"id":162,"name":"Czechia","code":"CZE"},{"id":167,"name":"Democratic Republic of Congo","code":"COD"},{"id":161,"name":"Denmark","code":"DNK"},{"id":154,"name":"Djibouti","code":"DJI"},{"id":200,"name":"Dominica","code":"DMA"},{"id":349172,"name":"East Asia and Pacific (WB)","code":"WB_EAP"},{"id":225,"name":"East Timor","code":"TLS"},{"id":201,"name":"Ecuador","code":"ECU"},{"id":65,"name":"Egypt","code":"EGY"},{"id":259,"name":"El Salvador","code":"SLV"},{"id":157,"name":"Eritrea","code":"ERI"},{"id":156,"name":"Estonia","code":"EST"},{"id":78,"name":"Eswatini","code":"SWZ"},{"id":158,"name":"Ethiopia","code":"ETH"},{"id":349171,"name":"Europe and Central Asia (WB)","code":"WB_ECA"},{"id":115117,"name":"European Union (27)","code":"OWID_EU27"},{"id":202,"name":"Fiji","code":"FJI"},{"id":155,"name":"Finland","code":"FIN"},{"id":3,"name":"France","code":"FRA"},{"id":203,"name":"French Polynesia","code":"PYF"},{"id":151,"name":"Gambia","code":"GMB"},{"id":152,"name":"Georgia","code":"GEO"},{"id":6,"name":"Germany","code":"DEU"},{"id":149,"name":"Greece","code":"GRC"},{"id":206,"name":"Grenada","code":"GRD"},{"id":148,"name":"Guatemala","code":"GTM"},{"id":146,"name":"Guyana","code":"GUY"},{"id":145,"name":"Haiti","code":"HTI"},{"id":457,"name":"High-income countries","code":"OWID_HIC"},{"id":139,"name":"Honduras","code":"HND"},{"id":144,"name":"Hong Kong","code":"HKG"},{"id":138,"name":"Hungary","code":"HUN"},{"id":207,"name":"Iceland","code":"ISL"},{"id":137,"name":"India","code":"IND"},{"id":135,"name":"Iran","code":"IRN"},{"id":134,"name":"Iraq","code":"IRQ"},{"id":2,"name":"Ireland","code":"IRL"},{"id":265,"name":"Isle of Man","code":"IMN"},{"id":133,"name":"Israel","code":"ISR"},{"id":8,"name":"Italy","code":"ITA"},{"id":132,"name":"Jamaica","code":"JAM"},{"id":14,"name":"Japan","code":"JPN"},{"id":130,"name":"Jordan","code":"JOR"},{"id":131,"name":"Kazakhstan","code":"KAZ"},{"id":129,"name":"Kenya","code":"KEN"},{"id":204,"name":"Kiribati","code":"KIR"},{"id":379,"name":"Kosovo","code":"OWID_KOS"},{"id":126,"name":"Kyrgyzstan","code":"KGZ"},{"id":125,"name":"Laos","code":"LAO"},{"id":349170,"name":"Latin America and Caribbean (WB)","code":"WB_LAC"},{"id":122,"name":"Latvia","code":"LVA"},{"id":124,"name":"Lebanon","code":"LBN"},{"id":123,"name":"Lesotho","code":"LSO"},{"id":121,"name":"Liberia","code":"LBR"},{"id":209,"name":"Liechtenstein","code":"LIE"},{"id":119,"name":"Lithuania","code":"LTU"},{"id":461,"name":"Low-income countries","code":"OWID_LIC"},{"id":460,"name":"Lower-middle-income countries","code":"OWID_LMC"},{"id":210,"name":"Luxembourg","code":"LUX"},{"id":118,"name":"Madagascar","code":"MDG"},{"id":117,"name":"Malawi","code":"MWI"},{"id":116,"name":"Malaysia","code":"MYS"},{"id":211,"name":"Maldives","code":"MDV"},{"id":115,"name":"Mali","code":"MLI"},{"id":212,"name":"Malta","code":"MLT"},{"id":223,"name":"Marshall Islands","code":"MHL"},{"id":213,"name":"Mauritius","code":"MUS"},{"id":222,"name":"Micronesia (country)","code":"FSM"},{"id":372001,"name":"Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (WB)","code":"WB_MENAP"},{"id":111,"name":"Moldova","code":"MDA"},{"id":214,"name":"Monaco","code":"MCO"},{"id":112,"name":"Mongolia","code":"MNG"},{"id":215,"name":"Montenegro","code":"MNE"},{"id":110,"name":"Morocco","code":"MAR"},{"id":109,"name":"Mozambique","code":"MOZ"},{"id":142,"name":"Myanmar","code":"MMR"},{"id":108,"name":"Namibia","code":"NAM"},{"id":218,"name":"Nauru","code":"NRU"},{"id":107,"name":"Nepal","code":"NPL"},{"id":5,"name":"Netherlands","code":"NLD"},{"id":106,"name":"New Zealand","code":"NZL"},{"id":105,"name":"Nicaragua","code":"NIC"},{"id":104,"name":"Niger","code":"NER"},{"id":103,"name":"Nigeria","code":"NGA"},{"id":278896,"name":"North America (WB)","code":"WB_NA"},{"id":66,"name":"North Macedonia","code":"MKD"},{"id":102,"name":"Norway","code":"NOR"},{"id":217,"name":"Oman","code":"OMN"},{"id":101,"name":"Pakistan","code":"PAK"},{"id":100,"name":"Panama","code":"PAN"},{"id":99,"name":"Papua New Guinea","code":"PNG"},{"id":98,"name":"Paraguay","code":"PRY"},{"id":97,"name":"Peru","code":"PER"},{"id":96,"name":"Philippines","code":"PHL"},{"id":11,"name":"Poland","code":"POL"},{"id":95,"name":"Portugal","code":"PRT"},{"id":226,"name":"Qatar","code":"QAT"},{"id":92,"name":"Romania","code":"ROU"},{"id":12,"name":"Russia","code":"RUS"},{"id":91,"name":"Rwanda","code":"RWA"},{"id":227,"name":"Saint Kitts and Nevis","code":"KNA"},{"id":229,"name":"Saint Lucia","code":"LCA"},{"id":230,"name":"Saint Vincent and the Grenadines","code":"VCT"},{"id":239,"name":"Samoa","code":"WSM"},{"id":231,"name":"San Marino","code":"SMR"},{"id":89,"name":"Senegal","code":"SEN"},{"id":88,"name":"Serbia","code":"SRB"},{"id":233,"name":"Seychelles","code":"SYC"},{"id":87,"name":"Sierra Leone","code":"SLE"},{"id":86,"name":"Singapore","code":"SGP"},{"id":85,"name":"Slovakia","code":"SVK"},{"id":83,"name":"Slovenia","code":"SVN"},{"id":195,"name":"Solomon Islands","code":"SLB"},{"id":82,"name":"Somalia","code":"SOM"},{"id":81,"name":"South Africa","code":"ZAF"},{"id":277956,"name":"South Asia (WB)","code":"WB_SA"},{"id":127,"name":"South Korea","code":"KOR"},{"id":258,"name":"South Sudan","code":"SSD"},{"id":9,"name":"Spain","code":"ESP"},{"id":141,"name":"Sri Lanka","code":"LKA"},{"id":277950,"name":"Sub-Saharan Africa (WB)","code":"WB_SSA"},{"id":79,"name":"Sudan","code":"SDN"},{"id":10,"name":"Sweden","code":"SWE"},{"id":7,"name":"Switzerland","code":"CHE"},{"id":76,"name":"Tajikistan","code":"TJK"},{"id":64,"name":"Tanzania","code":"TZA"},{"id":75,"name":"Thailand","code":"THA"},{"id":74,"name":"Togo","code":"TGO"},{"id":235,"name":"Tonga","code":"TON"},{"id":73,"name":"Trinidad and Tobago","code":"TTO"},{"id":71,"name":"Tunisia","code":"TUN"},{"id":70,"name":"Turkey","code":"TUR"},{"id":69,"name":"Turkmenistan","code":"TKM"},{"id":237,"name":"Tuvalu","code":"TUV"},{"id":68,"name":"Uganda","code":"UGA"},{"id":67,"name":"Ukraine","code":"UKR"},{"id":1,"name":"United Kingdom","code":"GBR"},{"id":13,"name":"United States","code":"USA"},{"id":459,"name":"Upper-middle-income countries","code":"OWID_UMC"},{"id":63,"name":"Uruguay","code":"URY"},{"id":62,"name":"Uzbekistan","code":"UZB"},{"id":221,"name":"Vanuatu","code":"VUT"},{"id":238,"name":"Venezuela","code":"VEN"},{"id":355,"name":"World","code":"OWID_WRL"},{"id":61,"name":"Yemen","code":"YEM"},{"id":60,"name":"Zambia","code":"ZMB"},{"id":80,"name":"Zimbabwe","code":"ZWE"}]}},"origins":[{"id":13612,"title":"World Development Indicators","description":"The World Development Indicators (WDI) database, published by the World Bank, is a comprehensive collection of global development data, providing key economic, social, and environmental statistics. It includes over 1,500 indicators covering more than 200 countries and territories, with data spanning several decades.WDI serves as a vital resource for policymakers, researchers, businesses, and analysts seeking to understand global trends and make data-driven decisions. The database covers a wide range of topics, including economic growth, education, health, poverty, trade, energy, infrastructure, governance, and environmental sustainability.The indicators are sourced from reputable national and international agencies, ensuring high-quality, consistent, and comparable data. Users can access the database through interactive online tools, API services, and downloadable datasets, facilitating detailed analysis and visualization.WDI is also used for tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global development initiatives. By providing accessible and reliable statistics, it helps to inform policy discussions and strategies globally.Whether for academic research, policy planning, or economic analysis, the World Development Indicators database is an essential tool for understanding and addressing global development challenges.","producer":"Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, WHO, and BMJ Global Health, via World Bank","citationFull":"Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, uri: www.lancetglobalsurgery.org, note: Data collected by the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery;\nWHO Collaborating Centre for Surgery and Public Health, note: data collected by WHO Collaborating Centre for Surgery and Public Health at Lund University from various sources including Ministries of Health or equivalent national regulatory bodies, national official entities such as medical councils, Eurostat, OECD, WHO Euro Health For All Database, WHO EURO Technical resources for health Database;\nBMJ Glob Health. Indicator SH.MED.SAOP.P5 (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.SAOP.P5). World Development Indicators - World Bank (2026). Accessed on 2026-02-27.","versionProducer":"125","urlMain":"https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.SAOP.P5","urlDownload":"https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/public/ddpext_download/WDI_CSV.zip","dateAccessed":"2026-02-27","datePublished":"2026-01-28","license":{"url":"https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0037712/World-Development-Indicators","name":"CC BY 4.0"}}]}