According to data from the Ministry of Health compiled by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of doctors in Indonesia reached 176,110 in 2022.
This figure is a combination of general practitioners, dentists, specialists, and specialist dentists.
In 2022, the number of doctors in Indonesia increased by approximately 3% compared to 2021, setting a new record high in the last five years.
Cumulatively, the number of doctors in the country has increased by approximately 60% during the 2018-2022 period.
This increase has improved Indonesia's doctor-to-population ratio. According to World Health Organization (WHO) data compiled by Index Mundi, in 2019 Indonesia only had a ratio of 0.47 doctors per 1,000 people.
Then in 2022, comparing the number of doctors with the latest Indonesian population data, the ratio increased to approximately 0.63 doctors per 1,000 people.
However, this ratio is still lower than the WHO's ideal standard of 1 doctor per 1,000 people. The Chairperson of the Indonesian Medical Council (KKI), Taruna Ikrar, also assessed that the distribution of doctors in Indonesia is still uneven.
"It is very clear that the number of doctors with very high density is in large cities, but very minimal in peripheral or rural areas," said Taruna in his article *Mengurai Benang Kusut Dokter Indonesia*, as cited from the official KKI website (1/7/2022).
"This condition is exacerbated by Indonesia's geographical condition as an archipelago. Uneven distribution means thousands of islands have no doctors at all. This condition certainly endangers the safety of the community in those areas," he continued.
"Based on this issue, it is only natural that all related institutions have a responsibility to take extraordinary action. We are not in a normal condition, so we must make maximum efforts to overcome this backlog," said Taruna.