How many therapists per person? Statistics by country

How easy is it to find a therapist where you live? One rough guide is how many psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health workers a country has for its population. The answer varies hugely around the world.

Most figures here are rates per hundred thousand people, so you can compare countries of different sizes. Where a source gives a head count instead, we show the count and say so. Each figure names its profession, its group and its source, and its year where the source gives one.

The World Health Organization's Mental Health Atlas collects these numbers from governments. We quote the worldwide figures below from WHO news releases and regional pages that state them, and from peer-reviewed papers that cite the Atlas.

Each country section links to the TherapyRoute directory for that country, so you can see the therapists listed there.

Africa

In South Africa, the public sector rates for psychologists and social workers use people without medical insurance as the population. The Kenya and Nigeria figures come from a ten-country study that draws on the WHO Mental Health Atlas, so they are second-hand. Both countries had very few psychiatrists for their populations. Find a therapist in South Africa, Kenya or Nigeria.

• Counted against uninsured people, who rely on the public sector, South Africa's public sector employed psychologists at a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 people in 2018. (administrative records, 2018 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• Counted against uninsured people, who rely on the public sector, South Africa's public health sector employed social workers at a rate of 1.83 per 100,000 people in 2018. (administrative records, 2018 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ³
• South Africa had psychiatrists at a rate of 1.52 per 100,000 people in 2017. (2017 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁵
• Kenya had psychiatrists at a rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people in the WHO Mental Health Atlas for 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶
• Nigeria had psychiatrists at a rate of 0.1 per 100,000 people in the WHO Mental Health Atlas for 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶

Asia

India's figures are an estimate by three authors, drawn from professional membership lists, a national survey and conference records. The authors give no year. The Philippines figure comes from a review of the country's mental health services, which cites an earlier study for it and gives no year. Find a therapist in India or the Philippines.

• An estimate put the number of psychiatrists in India at 0.75 per 100,000 people. (published 2019, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁷
• India had about 9,000 psychiatrists, by an estimate drawn from membership, survey and conference records. (published 2019, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁷
• The Philippines had psychiatrists at a rate of 0.52 per 100,000 people. (published 2019, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁸

Europe

The United Kingdom figures come from the Royal College of Psychiatrists' census of consultant posts and cover England only. The source's own headline uses a different base, people expected to experience a mental illness each year, so it does not match the figure below. Find a therapist in the United Kingdom.

• In England, there was one consultant psychiatrist for every 12,700 people, by the Royal College of Psychiatrists census for 2025. (2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁹
• At the end of March 2025, 14% of consultant psychiatrist posts in England were vacant. (2025 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁹

North America

Canada's figures come from national physician data held by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, as reported in a study by the heads of Canada's university psychiatry departments. The United States figure comes from a ten-country study that draws on the WHO Mental Health Atlas, so it is second-hand. Find a therapist in Canada or the United States.

• Canada had 5,819 psychiatrists in 2023, according to Canadian Institute for Health Information data. (administrative records, 2023 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹⁰
• Canada had psychiatrists at a rate of 15 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Canadian Institute for Health Information data. (administrative records, 2023 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹⁰
• The United States had psychiatrists at a rate of 14.60 per 100,000 people in the WHO Mental Health Atlas for 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶

South America

Brazil's figures come from a review of its community mental health services. Argentina reports several times the OECD average of psychologists for its population. The Argentina and Uruguay figures come from the OECD and World Bank, using each country's latest available year. Find a therapist in Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay.

• Brazil had psychologists working in mental health at a rate of 3.22 per 100,000 people in 2014. (2014 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁴
• Argentina reported psychologists working in mental health at a rate of over 286 per 100,000 people, the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. (published 2023, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹¹
• Brazil had psychiatrists at a rate of 3.40 per 100,000 people in 2014. (2014 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁴
• Uruguay reported psychiatrists at a rate of 15.7 per 100,000 people, the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean. (published 2023, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹¹

Oceania

Australia's head counts come from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, using national registration data and the social workers' association records. The rate comes from the ten-country comparison. Find a therapist in Australia.

• About 36,900 psychologists worked in their registered profession in Australia during 2024. (administrative records, 2024 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹²
• Australia had about 3,400 accredited mental health social workers during 2024. (administrative records, 2024 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹²
• About 28,300 mental health nurses worked in their registered profession in Australia during 2024. (administrative records, 2024 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹²
• About 4,500 psychiatrists worked in their registered profession in Australia during 2024. (administrative records, 2024 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹²
• Australia had psychiatrists at a rate of 13.50 per 100,000 people in the WHO Mental Health Atlas for 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁶

Middle East

The Türkiye figures come from its National Mental Health Action Plan, as cited in a Turkish journal. The Iran figure comes from a review of mental health care in Iran that cites the WHO Mental Health Atlas. Find a therapist in Türkiye or Iran.

• Iran had mental health workers at a rate of 20 per 100,000 people in 2017. (2017 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹³
• Türkiye had psychiatry specialists at a rate of 3.43 per 100,000 people in 2020, according to its National Mental Health Action Plan. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹⁴
• Türkiye had psychiatry specialists at a rate of 2.2 per 100,000 people in 2011, according to its National Mental Health Action Plan. (2011 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹⁴

The wider picture

For context, the World Health Organization reports medians across the countries that answer its Atlas survey. A median is the middle country, not an average. The African Region and European Region figures come from a South African paper that cites the Atlas, and the Western Pacific figure from the WHO regional office. The OECD average comes from the OECD and World Bank report on health in Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Across the countries reporting to the WHO Mental Health Atlas in 2024, the median mental health workforce was 13 per 100,000 people. (2024 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹
• In 2020, high-income countries had more than 40 times as many mental health workers as low-income countries, counted against population. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ²
• In the WHO African Region, the median number of mental health workers was 1.6 per 100,000 people in 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁵
• In the WHO European Region, the median number of mental health workers was 44.8 per 100,000 people in 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ⁵
• In the WHO Western Pacific Region, the median number of psychologists in mental health was 0.8 per 100,000 people in 2020. (2020 data, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹⁵
• Psychologists working in mental health in OECD member countries averaged approximately 40 per 100,000 people. (published 2023, year not stated, checked 10 Oct 2026) ¹¹

Psychologists and psychiatrists for every hundred thousand people

Psychologists come first, then psychiatrists. These rates come from different sources and years. Read each row with its year, and treat small differences as noise.

How to check that a therapist is registered

In many countries a psychologist must register with a regulator before practising under that title, and some counsellors must too. The rules differ between countries. In some places anyone may call themselves a counsellor or therapist.

Before you book, ask which body the therapist is registered with. Then look them up on that body's public register, if it has one. Our country guides explain who regulates therapy and where to check, for South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Türkiye and Iran.

How to read these figures

Most sources count psychiatrists, so psychiatrists fill most rows. Few count psychologists outside public services, and these sources do not count counsellors separately.

Countries count different people. Some count only staff in public mental health services, some count everyone registered, and some count posts rather than people. A rate from one kind of count does not compare cleanly with another.

Psychologists and social workers often work outside mental health services, so many sources count only those who work in mental health.

A head count says nothing about hours worked or where people work. National figures can hide large differences between cities and rural areas.

We quote World Health Organization figures with citation, and we do not reproduce or chart WHO datasets.

If few specialists practise near you, online sessions can widen your choice of therapist. Our guide on how to find the right therapist explains what to look for. If you are in distress right now, see our helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

Cite this page: TherapyRoute. How many therapists per person? Statistics by country. https://www.therapyroute.com/article/how-many-therapists-per-person-statistics-by-therapyroute. Last updated 10 October 2026.

References

1. [1] WHO releases new reports and estimates highlighting urgent gaps in mental health. World Health Organization, 2 September 2025 who.int.
2. [2] WHO report highlights global shortfall in investment in mental health. World Health Organization, 8 October 2021 who.int.
3. [3] Mental health system costs, resources and constraints in South Africa: a national survey. Health Policy and Planning (Docrat S, Besada D, Cleary S, Daviaud E, Lund C), 23 September 2019 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
4. [4] Community-based mental health services in Brazil. Consortium Psychiatricum (Razzouk D, Caparroce DC, Sousa A), 2 September 2020 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
5. [5] Mental health task-sharing in South Africa: a role for clinical associates? BMC Health Services Research (Moodley et al.), 8 October 2022 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
6. [6] Global Disparities in Mental Health Systems: A Comparative Cross-sectional Study of Ten Countries with Different Income Levels. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (Patel NM, Savaliya GV, Mehta PJ et al.), 15 October 2025 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
7. [7] Number of psychiatrists in India: Baby steps forward, but a long way to go. Indian Journal of Psychiatry (Garg K, Kumar CN, Chandra PS), January-February 2019 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
8. [8] Mental health services in the Philippines. BJPsych International (Lally, Tully and Samaniego), 14 January 2019 cambridge.org.
9. [9] One consultant psychiatrist for every 2,500 people who will experience a mental illness each year in England, latest census shows. Royal College of Psychiatrists, 13 March 2026 rcpsych.ac.uk.
10. [10] Canadian Psychiatry Human Resource Planning: Delphi-Method Study of Academic Chairs of Psychiatry of Canada. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (Sareen J, Isaak C, Perera E et al.), 16 January 2026 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
11. [11] Mental healthcare workers (Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2023). OECD and The World Bank, 18 April 2023 oecd.org.
12. [12] Mental health workforce. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 12 May 2026 aihw.gov.au.
13. [13] Mental Health and Mental Health Care in Iran: Addressing Social Inequalities. Healthcare (Basel) (Zandi S, Oghani-Esfahani F, Ahmadi F et al.), 1 December 2025 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
14. [14] Improving Psychiatry Services with Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Challenges. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry (Ballı M, Ercan Doğan A, Yapıcı Eser H), 6 December 2024 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
15. [15] Median number per 100K population. WHO Western Pacific Region (Western Pacific Health Data Platform), 19 December 2022 data.wpro.who.int.