Population-to-physician Ratios, 1996

In 1986, the population-to-physician ratio in Canada was close to 550:1 (actually 555:1). This figure was used to assist in building the classes for this map. Two of the mapping classes (244:1 to 274:1 and 275:1 to 549:1) show regions of Canada that in 1996 have ratios that are much lower or slightly lower than the overall ratio in Canada in the mid-1980s while the remaining two classes (550:1 to 824:1 and 825:1 to 8901:1) indicate areas that have ratios slightly above or significantly above the national ratio of that era.

Immediately, one sees that the majority of low ratio areas (that is, areas with comparatively few people per physician) are associated with the major urban centres of Canada. Every province has one or more census division in which the ratio is less than or equal to 550:1. None of the territories has a ratio this low. At the same time, each province has a significant number of census divisions with ratios higher than 550:1 and these tend to be located in more rural and/or northern areas. The overall range of this ratio is from 244:1 to 8901:1. Interestingly, the census division with the highest ratio is located immediately to the southwest of (and abutting) Winnipeg. It contains no specialist physicians and very few family physicians.

Regional Variations in Population-to-physician Ratios

Numerical ranges of population-to-physician ratios can differ substantially when smaller geographical units are examined compared to the ratios outlined above for Canada as a whole. Provincial and territorial ratios for 1997 are shown in figure 1.

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Figure 1. Provincial and Territorial Population-to-Physician Ratios, 1997

Differences are even more dramatic when the ratios are computed and mapped by census division. In general, these figures and maps highlight the fact that physician locations are particularly urban-oriented -- more so than the general population as a whole. They also highlight the difficulties of applying population-to-physician ratios to relatively arbitrary administrative geographical units. These maps should be examined carefully in the context of the physician and population distribution charts provided earlier.

• Population-to-family Physician Ratios, 1996 Map | Read about this map
• Population-to-specialist Ratios, 1996 Map | Read about this map

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