Responses to the latest World Physiotherapy annual membership census (AMC) reveal how the global physiotherapy workforce is developing and evolving.
World Physiotherapy publishes data from its member organisations every year on a range of issues, including professional regulation, practice, education, and the physiotherapy workforce. This data provides a comprehensive and valuable global profile of the profession. At a national level, the AMC data can be used as a powerful advocacy tool to help foster regulatory changes that will improve the profession.
The AMC regional reports include case studies from World Physiotherapy member organisations in Colombia, Ethiopia, Guyana, Korea, and Slovenia that demonstrate how the global profession is evolving and developing around issues including education, leadership, rehabilitation.
The AMC date was 30 June 2024.
The most recent data is based on the census completed by 120 of World Physiotherapy’s 125 member organisations in mid-2024. The high response rate, 96% (2023: 93.7%), is consistent with the rates in previous years and demonstrates strong engagement between World Physiotherapy and its member organisations. The data gives a global snapshot of the physiotherapy profession across the world, showing variations in the density of physiotherapists in different countries/territories and between World Physiotherapy regions.
For the first time in the 2024 AMC, member organisations were asked to identify their advocacy priorities and were able to indicate multiple priorities.
Education was identified as an advocacy priority by 72% of member organisations. Other advocacy priorities included professional issues, physiotherapy workforce, and direct access.
Other highlights of the 2024 AMC include:
- 65% of respondents (2023: 61%) said membership of their organisation had increased
- 39% of respondents (2023: 35%) said there was full direct access in their country/territory, where people could go to a physiotherapist without a referral from another health professional
- 61% of physiotherapists around the world (2023: 63%) are women contrasting with 43% of member organisations (2023: 43%) that have women presidents or chairs
- 18% of member organisations (2023: 14%) said their organisation had specific policies or programmes to support women in leadership roles
World Physiotherapy interim chief executive officer Tracy Bury said: “The responses to the AMC from our member organisations are critical to planning how the World Physiotherapy team can continue to provide ongoing advocacy support.
“The advocacy priorities highlighted by our member organisations will help inform the support and services we offer to continue to develop the global physiotherapy community.
“It is good to see the increase in direct access because this means people who need physiotherapist services are able to access this directly from a physiotherapist, without having to go through another healthcare professional. We still have more to do to address the lack of growth of women in leadership positions within our member organisations”
The profile maps, which are developed from responses to the annual membership census, allow people to see how the global profession has evolved since 2013. The maps are an interactive resource that can be printed or downloaded and can be accessed here.
Annual membership census 2024:
