---
title: Most of the World Lacks Enough Dermatologists to Treat Skin Disease
description: Only one in six countries has enough skin doctors, and the gaps reach inside wealthy nations too, a new global study finds.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-09-16T13:18:21.400Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/global-dermatologist-shortage-skin-care-access
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-a-specialist-performing-a-skin-analysis-on-a-patient-using-a-7446669.jpg
categories: Longevity & Science
content_type: News
region: Global
publication: Rich Health Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

More than two billion people live with skin disease, one of the most common health conditions in the world and among the top ten causes of disability. Most of them live somewhere a dermatologist is hard to reach. A new global study, published in JAMA Dermatology, looked at access to dermatological care across 158 countries, covering 97% of the world's population, and found that only one in six has enough dermatologists to meet its people's needs.

The global average works out at 2.66 dermatologists per 100,000 people, well below the 5.63 per 100,000 the researchers estimate is needed for adequate care. More than 80% of countries fall short of that mark. The researchers call the areas with the severest shortfall dermatological deserts. This dermatologist shortage is not confined to the poorest places: gaps open up inside wealthy countries too, wherever specialists cluster in cities and private clinics.

## Eighteen Dermatologists for 27 Million People

Australia and Niger have almost the same population, around 27 million people each. Australia has more than 600 dermatologists. Niger has 18. Japan and Ethiopia are also close in size, with roughly 130 million people apiece, but Japan has more than 7,000 dermatologists against around 200 in Ethiopia. By income, the number of dermatologists per capita ranges from 0.37 per 100,000 in low-income countries to 5.05 in high-income ones. No country in Africa or South-East Asia currently reaches the benchmark.

The burden of skin disease is heaviest exactly where care is thinnest. Where dermatologists do exist, most work in cities: 79% globally, rising to 91% in low-income countries, which leaves rural and remote populations with little within reach. Many specialists also work in the private sector, putting them out of range for patients who depend on public health systems. Across the world's lowest-income countries, around two-thirds report poor or extremely inadequate access to care.

## Where Care Falls to Nurses and Pharmacists

When there is no dermatologist, someone else takes on skin conditions. Primary care doctors, nurses, pharmacists and community health workers often carry equal or greater responsibility for diagnosing and treating them, and many have had little or no formal training in dermatology. The researchers report insufficient provider capacity in 89% of low-income countries and 94% of African countries. Skin health is not a national government priority in 74% of the countries surveyed.

Training standards for the dermatologists who do practise are broadly similar everywhere, with 89% of countries requiring both a medical degree and specialty training. In economically disadvantaged countries, an estimated 90% report inadequate access across subspecialties such as paediatric dermatology, dermatological surgery and dermatopathology.

"This is the first time we are turning anecdote into data we can act on," said Esther Freeman, the study's principal investigator and an associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School. "Where you live should not determine your access to skin health, but today, it does. Our job is to identify these gaps and work together as a global community to address them."

The work is meant to support the [World Health Assembly's 2025 resolution](https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA78/A78_R15-en.pdf) recognising skin diseases as a global public health priority, turning that commitment into action. It was carried out by the International League of Dermatological Societies with L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty, as part of the Global Access to Skin Health Observatory.

Readers can explore the data at [skinobservatory.org](https://skinobservatory.org/).

## FAQ

**Q: What is a dermatological desert?**
It is a term the researchers use for an area with severely limited access to skin care. These deserts appear across low-income countries, but also within wealthy ones, wherever dermatologists are concentrated in a few cities or private clinics and rural populations are left with almost no local specialist.

**Q: How many dermatologists does a country need?**
The study estimates 5.63 dermatologists per 100,000 people are needed for adequate care. The current global average is 2.66 per 100,000, and more than 80% of countries fall below the benchmark, ranging from 0.37 per 100,000 in low-income countries to 5.05 in high-income ones.

**Q: Who treats skin conditions where there are no dermatologists?**
Care usually falls to primary care doctors, nurses, pharmacists and community health workers. Many take on as much responsibility for diagnosing and treating skin conditions as a specialist would, despite receiving little or no formal dermatology training.

**Q: Why does where you live affect skin care so much?**
Skin disease is most common in the places with the fewest specialists, and most dermatologists work in cities and in the private sector. That leaves rural, remote and lower-income patients, who often carry the heaviest burden of skin disease, with the least access to care.