Metric · Workforce
Dentists per 100,000 population: market comparison
Dentists per 100,000 population; derived = dentists / population x 100000, or reported by source
Dental Market Radar Editorial Team · Updated · Data as of
Across 12 of 12 markets with a value, the highest lead value for dentists per 100,000 population is Saudi Arabia at 95.6 per 100,000 and the lowest is Vietnam at 9.9 per 100,000. Bases differ by market, so read the comparability rating beside each value. Each figure is derived from a dentist count divided by total population; the fact pages name the counts and sources.
Key points
- Saudi Arabia had 95.6 dentists per 100,000 people in 2024 (employed basis), derived from 33,751 employed dentists (Ministry of Health Statistical Yearbook 2024) divided by total population (World Bank WDI). It is the highest lead value among the markets.
- Vietnam had 9.9 dentists per 100,000 people in 2024 (basis not stated), derived from 10,000 dentists (FDI World Dental Federation NLO Reports 2024 compilation) divided by total population (World Bank WDI). It is the lowest lead value among the markets.
Cite this
Dental Market Radar (dentalmarketradar.com), Dentists per 100,000 population comparison, https://dentalmarketradar.com/metrics/dentists-per-100k/
Permanent URL: https://dentalmarketradar.com/metrics/dentists-per-100k/. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Definition
Dentists per 100,000 population; derived = dentists / population x 100000, or reported by source Unit: per 100,000. Category: Workforce.
Chart
Comparison table
| Market | Lead value | Basis | As of | Comparability | Calculation | Source | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 95.6 per 100,000 | employed | Comparability A | Derived from sa.dentists_practising.2024. Derived: 33,751 (sa.dentists_practising.2024, source sa-gastat-hcw-2024) / 35,300,280 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2024) x 100,000 = 95.6. Numerator basis: employed. Other per-100k records for SA use national-statistics denominators or other… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| United Arab Emirates | 89.8 per 100,000 | other | Comparability B | Derived from ae.dentists_total.2023. Derived: 9,413 (ae.dentists_total.2023, source ae-who-gho) / 10,483,751 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2023) x 100,000 = 89.8. Numerator basis: other. Other per-100k records for AE use national-statistics denominators or other bases and are not… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Japan | 80.9 per 100,000 | employed | Comparability B | Derived from jp.dentists_practising.2024. Derived: 100,266 (jp.dentists_practising.2024, source mhlw-ishi-2024) / 123,975,371 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2024) x 100,000 = 80.9. Numerator basis: employed. Other per-100k records for JP use national-statistics denominators or other… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Qatar | 78.1 per 100,000 | employed | Comparability A | Derived from qa.dentists_practising.2025. Derived: 2,320 (qa.dentists_practising.2025, source qa-npc-health-2025) / 2,972,215 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2025) x 100,000 = 78.1. Numerator basis: employed. Other per-100k records for QA use national-statistics denominators or other… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Taiwan | 72.8 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability B | Derived from tw.dentists_practising.2025, tw.population.2025. Derived: 16,968 / 23,299,132 x 100,000 = 72.8. Cannot follow L5 (no World Bank population for Taiwan); denominator is the national registration population, same year. Labelled comparability B for this reason. | Household registration population statistics, open data API ODRP019 (ROC year 114) | Value | |
| Australia | 65.6 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability B | Derived from au.dentists_practising.2024. Derived: 17,831 (au.dentists_practising.2024, source oecd-health-hr) / 27,194,286 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2024) x 100,000 = 65.6. Numerator basis: practising (OECD measure P). Other per-100k records for AU use national-statistics… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| South Korea | 55.7 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability A | Derived from kr.dentists_practising.2024. Derived: 28,836 (kr.dentists_practising.2024, source oecd-health-hr) / 51,751,065 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2024) x 100,000 = 55.7. Numerator basis: practising. Other per-100k records for KR use national-statistics denominators or other… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| New Zealand | 50.8 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability B | Derived from nz.dentists_practising.2025. Derived: 2,705 (nz.dentists_practising.2025, source nz-dcnz-annual-report-2025) / 5,324,700 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2025) x 100,000 = 50.8. Numerator basis: practising. Other per-100k records for NZ use national-statistics denominators or… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Singapore | 46.0 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability A | Derived from sg.dentists_practising.2025. Derived: 2,814 (sg.dentists_practising.2025, source sg-sdc-ar2025) / 6,111,175 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2025) x 100,000 = 46.0. Numerator basis: practising. Other per-100k records for SG use national-statistics denominators or other bases… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Malaysia | 41.4 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability A | Derived from my.dentists_practising.2024. Revision 2 (leader instruction 2026-11-09): switched from the registered basis (17,318, WHO) to the practising basis. Derived: 14,720 (my.dentists_practising.2024, Malaysian Dental Council) / 35,557,673 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2024) x… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Thailand | 11.2 per 100,000 | employed | Comparability C | Derived from th.dentists_practising.2023. Derived: 8,059 (th.dentists_practising.2023, source th-nso-syb2025) / 71,702,435 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2023) x 100,000 = 11.2. Numerator basis: employed. Other per-100k records for TH use national-statistics denominators or other bases… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value | |
| Vietnam | 9.9 per 100,000 | estimate | Comparability B | Derived from vn.dentists_total.2024. Derived: 10,000 (vn.dentists_total.2024, source vn-fdi-nlo-2024) / 100,987,686 (World Bank SP.POP.TOTL 2024) x 100,000 = 9.9. Numerator basis: estimate. Other per-100k records for VN use national-statistics denominators or other bases and… | World Bank WDI: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) | Value |
The headline record leads where one is designated; its basis (for example practising or licensed) and comparability rating are shown next to every value. Per-capita values use the denominator named in the calculation (World Bank total population, same year). Money is shown in US$ at the market exchange rate with local currency beside it.
Other bases and variants
Current records for the same metric that are not the lead value above: other bases, variants and secondary measures (for money, PPP values appear here).
| Market | Value | Basis | As of | Comparability | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | 72.8 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability B | Derived: 16,968 / 23,299,132 x 100,000 = 72.8 (see dentists_total and population records). MOHW table 1.7 sheet 2 independently gives 7.2826747 per 10,000 (= 72.83 per 100,000). | |
| Taiwan | 72.8 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability A | Derived: MOHW reports 7.2826747365524174 practising dentists per 10,000 population; x10 = 72.83 per 100,000 (rounded to 2 decimals). | |
| Japan | 83.7 per 100,000 | registered | Comparability A | Reported by MHLW (down 0.5 vs 2022). | |
| South Korea | 56.0 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability A | Revision 2 (2026-11-09, steward fix): Unit conversion declared: the quote gives 0.56 practising dentists per 1,000 population; stored value 56.0 per 100,000 = 0.56 x 100. Method derived. Derived: OECD reports 0.56… | |
| Singapore | 47.6 per 100,000 | registered | Comparability A | Derived: 2,906 / 6,111,175 x 100,000 = 47.55. Source itself reports 4.8 per 10,000 (= 48 per 100k, rounded); 4.7 in 2024 and 4.5 in 2023. Denominator is total population incl. non-residents. | |
| Malaysia | 48.7 per 100,000 | registered | Comparability B | Derived: WHO reported 4.87 per 10,000 x 10 = 48.7 per 100,000. WHO uses UN population. Same 2023-2024 series break as dentists_total (2023: 4.06 per 10,000). Alternative with DOSM population: 17,318 / 34,052,100 x… | |
| Malaysia | 50.9 per 100,000 | registered | Comparability B | Derived: 17,318 / 34,052,100 x 100000 = 50.86. Both inputs 2024. Uses national (DOSM) denominator instead of the UN one behind WHO's ratio. | |
| Malaysia | 41.4 per 100,000 | practising | Comparability A | Derived: 14,720 / 35,557,673 x 100000 = 41.4 (both 2024; L5 World Bank population). Practising basis (preferred per L4); the WHO 48.7 record uses the register count 17,318. | |
| Thailand | 32.5 per 100,000 | estimate | Comparability C | Derived: 23,274 (estimated cumulative licences, Oct 2026) / 71,619,863 (World Bank population 2025) x 100,000 = 32.5. Upper bound: numerator includes deceased/retired/emigrated dentists; years differ (2026 vs 2025). | |
| Thailand | 12.4 per 100,000 | employed | Comparability C | Derived: 100,000 / 8,076 (population per dentist, reported) = 12.38 per 100,000 (2023). 2022: 100,000/8,012 = 12.48. Same undercount as th.dentists_practising.2023 (excludes most private-clinic dentists); NOT comparable… | |
| Vietnam | 9.9 per 100,000 | estimate | Comparability B | Derived: 10000 / 101112656 x 100000 = 9.89 (dentists 2024 from FDI/VOSA; population at 1 Apr 2024 from NSO census,… | |
| Australia | 76.6 per 100,000 | registered | Comparability B | Derived: 21,141 / 27,600,000 x 100,000 = 76.6. Registered basis; population rounded to 0.1 million. OECD practising basis for 2024: 66 per 100,000. | |
| New Zealand | 63.5 per 100,000 | registered | Comparability B | Derived: 3,381 / 5,324,700 x 100,000 = 63.5 (registered basis, matching au.dentists_per_100k.2025). Practising basis: 2,705 / 5,324,700 x 100,000 = 50.8. Reference dates differ by 3 months. | |
| Saudi Arabia | 95.6 per 100,000 | employed (all sectors) | Comparability B | Derived: 33,751 / 35,300,000 (mid-2024, GASTAT) x 100,000 = 95.6. Mixes a year-end workforce count with a mid-year population. Inherits the unexplained 2023-24 jump. | |
| United Arab Emirates | 88.1 per 100,000 | other | Comparability B | Derived: 9,413 / 10,678,556 x 100,000 = 88.1. WHO's own density for 2023 (HWF_0010) is 8.85 per 10,000 (88.5 per 100,000), which uses a UN population. |
Comparability notes
A: same definition as the metric. B: close to the metric definition; the difference is noted. C: different basis; use with caution when comparing.
- Taiwan: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4): practising dentists / Ministry of the Interior household-registration population. L5 EXCEPTION: Taiwan has no World Bank series, so the national denominator is used.
- Japan: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (employed) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- South Korea: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (practising) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Singapore: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (practising) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Malaysia: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): practising dentists (Malaysian Dental Council) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Thailand: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (employed) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Vietnam: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_total (estimate) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Australia: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (OECD practising) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- New Zealand: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (practising) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Saudi Arabia: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (employed: all sectors) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- United Arab Emirates: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_total (other: national (all emirates, presumed)) divided by World Bank total population, same year
- Qatar: Headline rate (DECISIONS L4/L5): dentists_practising (employed: government + private) divided by World Bank total population, same year
What does Dentists per 100,000 population measure?
Dentists per 100,000 population; derived = dentists / population x 100000, or reported by source Unit: per 100,000.
Which market has the highest dentists per 100,000 population?
Saudi Arabia had 95.6 dentists per 100,000 people in 2024 (employed basis), derived from 33,751 employed dentists (Ministry of Health Statistical Yearbook 2024) divided by total population (World Bank WDI). It is the highest lead value; other markets use different bases, so compare with care.
How many markets have data for dentists per 100,000 population?
12 of 12 markets have a sourced value for dentists per 100,000 population.