One of the factors that determine healthcare accessibility is the availability of an adequate workforce and, more generally, of suitable healthcare services. How many qualified healthcare providers are currently active in our country? How many beds are available in a given sector? This information is essential to assess the current capacity of the healthcare system, but also to plan the healthcare supply for the coming years.
In this section, you will find indicators on the availability of physicians, nurses and dentists :
- The number of practising physicians (A-10)
- The number of practising nurses (A-11)
- The number of practicing dentists (A-12)
Some of the indicators analysed in other sections of this report also relate to workforce availability:
- Among mental healthcare indicators: the number of practising psychiatrists (MH-2) and registered psychologists (MH-12);
- Among care for the elderly indicators: the number of practicing geriatricians (OLD-6);
- In the section on resilience: the number of nursing staff vacancies in hospitals (R-3);
- On a closely related topic, the section on sustainability contains a number of indicators about both the current healthcare services and the expected evolution of supply and demand in the future: healthcare professionals who have recently completed their education (S-4, S-5, S-8), healthcare professionals nearing retirement (S-7, S-10), and projections of future supply and demand (S-18, S-19, S-22).
Indicators on health workforce distribution
Number of practising physicians (A-10)
Physicians are an essential part of the health care system and their availability gives important information on the accessibility of healthcare. This indicator measures the number of practising physicians per 1000 population.
In this context, the term “practising physician” refers to any qualified physician who has provided more than one clinical service (i.e. at least two consultations, visits or technical procedures – prescriptions are not counted here) over the course of a year, excluding physicians in training and stomatologists (physicians specialising in diseases of the mouth, teeth and jaws etc., which are counted under A-12 with dentists).
Data on the number of practicing physicians are also regularly updated in the section “Medical Practice Variations”.
Results
- In 2021, there were 37 504 practising physicians in Belgium (25 462 FTE). This comes down to a density of 3.2 per 1000 population, an increase by 11% since 2011 (2.9 per 1000 population). In FTE, there has been a 9.3% increase since 2011.
- In headcount, the density of practising physicians is lower in Flanders than in Brussels and Wallonia, but Brussels has the lowest density in FTE.
- Disparities between provinces can be substantial, with lower densities for some specialties in the province of Luxembourg and, to a lesser extent, Hainaut, Limburg and West Flanders, and higher densities in Walloon Brabant and Flemish Brabant. However, our figures are based on the physicians’ contact address, which is often their home address rather than their place of practice.
- The density of practising physicians per 1000 population in Belgium is below EU-14 (4.0 in 2021) and EU-27 averages (3.8), and has also increased more slowly since 2010. International comparisons should, however, be used with caution because countries might use different criteria to calculate their number of physicians.
- The percentage of fully or partially conventioned physicians was 78.9% (in FTE) in 2021. It has remained fairly stable over time. However, percentages of conventioned physicians were much lower in some specialities like dermatology (21.1%), ophthalmologic surgery (28.4%), plastic surgery (30.6%), gynaecology (41.9%), and orthopaedics (42.6%).
*Conventioned physicians are those who charge agreed-upon prices for their services. More information on this topic can be found under “financial accessibility” (A-8).
Link to the technical sheet and detailed results
Data source: RIZIV-INAMI data, KCE calculations
Data source: RIZIV-INAMI data, KCE calculations
Number of practising nurses (A-11)
Nurses play a key role in delivering healthcare, both in hospitals and other healthcare institutions and in primary care and home care services. In most countries, they also make up the largest group among all healthcare professionals, which means a shortage of nurses can easily lead to accessibility issues or have a negative impact on quality of care.
This indicator focuses on practicing nurses, i.e. those working in the health care sector (on at least a 0.1 full-time equivalent basis) either as self-employed professionals or as employees, but not necessarily in a clinical function.
Data on the number of practicing nurses are also regularly updated in the section “Key data in healthcare”.
Results
- In 2018, there were 126 496 practising nurses working in the healthcare sector (107 515 FTE) in Belgium. In 2022, based on estimates, there were about 137 193 practising nurses (116 607 FTE).
- For 2018, this comes down to a density of 11.1 practising nurses per 1000 population (9.4 in FTE) for Belgium 11.6 (9.7 FTE) in Flanders, 10.1 (8.9 FTE) in Wallonia and 10.7 (9.4 FTE) in Brussels, though figures are much lower in some areas around Brussels or close to an international border.
- This density is well above the EU-14 (9.5) and EU-27 averages (8.1). International comparisons should, however, be used with caution because countries might use different definitions of practicing nurses.
- The density of practising nurses in Belgium increased from 9.6/1000 population in 2010 to 11.1/1000 in 2018 (+15.4%) – a much sharper increase than the EU-27 (+4.5%) and EU-14 average (+6.2%).
- Most practising nurses work as employees in hospitals (62% of FTE in 2018), in the home care sector (17.9%) or in nursing homes (16.8%). However, the number of patients/residents per nurse in hospitals and nursing homes remains too high compared to standards and international quality norms.
Link to the technical sheet and detailed results.
Data source: For a healthy Belgium – Key data in healthcare – Healthcare professionals
Source: For a healthy Belgium – Key data in healthcare – Healthcare professionals
Number of practising dentists (A-12)
In the context of this indicator, the term “practising dentist” refers to any qualified general dentist, periodontist, orthodontist or maxillofacial surgeon/stomatologist who has provided more than one clinical service (i.e. at least two consultations, visits or technical procedures – prescriptions are not counted here) over the course of a year, excluding practitioners in training. We have chosen to include maxillofacial surgeons and stomatologists (who are technically physicians) in this section to align with international definitions.
Data on the number of practicing dentists are also regularly updated in the section “Medical Practice Variations”.
Results
- In 2021, there were 8926 practising dentists in Belgium (6479 in FTE), which amounts to a density of 0.77 per 1000 population (0.56 in FTE).
- In 2020, the Belgian density of practising dentists (0.77 per 1000 population) was close to the EU-27 average (0.78) and above the EU-14 average (0.73). The evolution of the density of practising dentists in Belgium (+10% between 2010 and 2020) is in line with the EU-27 average (+12.5%). The EU-14 average increased much less (+4%).
- In 2021, only 48.4% of practising dentists (in FTE) were conventioned* (-15.8 percentage points compared to 2012). This share was much lower for periodontists and orthodontists than for general dentists, and varied considerably between the provinces (some of which had no conventioned periodontists or orthodontists at all).
* Conventioned dentists are those who charge agreed-upon prices for their services. More information on this topic can be found under “financial accessibility” (A-9).
Link to the technical sheet and detailed results
Data source: OECD health data 2023