WFOT Human Resources Project 2024

This dashboard presents data collected by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) on the global occupational therapy workforce. The data includes information on practicing occupational therapists, education programs, regulatory requirements, and services provided across different countries and regions.

Explore the data

Introduction

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) Human Resources Project 2024 provides a comprehensive global overview of the occupational therapy profession, capturing demographic and workforce data from WFOT Member Organisations worldwide in 2023. This initiative aims to offer valuable insights into the scale, distribution, and development of occupational therapy globally.

The project surveyed 105 WFOT Member Organisations in 2023, achieving an impressive response rate of 98%, with detailed data submitted by 102 organisations.

105
WFOT Member Organisations surveyed
102
WFOT Member Organisations that responded
98%
Response rate

WFOT Member Organisations that responded: Armenia, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

WFOT Member Organisations that did not respond: Mauritius, Palestine, Peru.

Summary

Information was collated from 102 WFOT Member Organisations (98% of those surveyed). The figures below reflect the responses provided by these organisations.

680,162
Practising occupational therapists
1,036
WFOT approved education programmes
368
Non-WFOT approved education programmes
2.5
Occupational therapists per 10,000 population (mean)
126,936
Students in WFOT approved programmes
66,967
Occupational therapy assistants

WFOT Human Resources Project 2024

Below is a visual overview of key indicators from the HR Project, based on responses provided by individual countries/territories.

Use the filter toolbar to explore the data by region, based on WHO Regional Offices. Please note that some countries and territories not formally included in WHO regions have been grouped appropriately for the purposes of this project. You can also sort the data by country/territory name or indicator value, and choose to display only the top 10, 20, or 30 entries for easier viewing.

Where available, charts can be exported as PDF files, and all indicator data is available for download as a CSV.

Conclusion

This dashboard presents data collected by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) on the global occupational therapy workforce. The data includes information on practicing occupational therapists, education programs, regulatory requirements, and services provided across different countries and regions.

Occupational Therapists Worldwide (2006-2024)

Biennial increases of practicing occupational therapists

Top 3 areas of practice with high vacancy rates for occupational therapists

1
Mental Health
n = 31 (30%)
2
Paediatrics
n = 21 (20%)
3
Dementia Care
n = 15 (15%)

Top 3 specific practice areas with a shortage of occupational therapists

1
Rehabilitation Centres
n = 62 (76.5%)
2
Inpatient/Outpatient Services/Hospitals – Acute/Physical
n = 57 (70.4%)
3
Inpatient/Outpatient Services/Hospitals – Mental Health/Substance Abuse
n = 54 (66.7%)

Top 3 Factors impacting on the shortage of occupational therapists for funded positions

1
Wages for occupational therapists
Avg: 3.14
2
Awareness/recognition of occupational therapy
Avg. 3.06
3
Supply of experienced occupational therapists
Avg. 3.01

Notes & Cautions

Not all organisations collate data that is requested for this project.

Missing data should not be interpreted as being not applicable; in some instances the information is not known or unable to be provided.

All responses were requested in English and therefore reliant on accurate translations by Member Organisations.

Each slide shows the responses that were received from each WFOT Member Organisation or the WFOT Delegate.

Figures shown may be approximate versus an exact number.

2023 population data sourced from data.who.int/countries, data.worldbank.org and worldpopulationreview.com

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