Computing Worldwide Health Indicators

We recently added data on health indicators for more than 200 countries and territories. We now have World Health Organization data on health care workers, immunizations, water and sanitation, preventive care, tobacco use, weight, and more.

Data is also now available on specific types of health care personnel, such as physicians, nurses, and dentists, and Wolfram|Alpha can also compute per capita figures for each type of health professional. Check out the figures on midwives in South Africa or dentists in Iceland—or for a particularly interesting view, try asking about doctors per capita in all countries.

Other intriguing indicators include figures on hospital beds, drinking water and sanitation, tobacco use, weight and obesity, and reproduction and contraception.

Some data, such as for infant immunizations (including DTP, MCV, hepatitis B, and Hib), spans several years—which allows you to see dramatic increases in immunizations in many developing countries, as well as surprising declines in some first-world nations.

Try comparing medical resources of Cuba and the USA, or contraceptive use in Chad and France. Regional overviews are possible, too: you can view maps and summaries of data on underweight children in Africa and DTP immunization around the world, for example.

For more suggested queries, visit our examples page. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or just curious, we invite you to explore the data.