Indonesia Still Faces Shortage of Cardiologists
Indonesia continues to face a shortage of cardiovascular and vascular specialists. Currently, the number of cardiologists in Indonesia is only around 1,400 to 2,000, while the ideal requirement reaches approximately 2,800 to 3,000 doctors. Ideally, this number would allow one cardiologist to serve 100,000 residents.
This was stated by Iwan Dakota, Head of Peripheral Vascular Intervention in the Vascular Division of the Department of Cardiology & Vascular Medicine at the National Cardiovascular Hospital Harapan Kita. According to him, the number of cardiologists in Indonesia is targeted to reach 2,800 to 3,000 people within the next two years.
“It is currently approaching the 1,400 to 2,000 range. Because it is expected that in the next two years, we will reach 2,800 to 3,000, which would suffice for a ratio of one cardiologist per 100,000. For a population of 280 million, that means 2,800 doctors. In two years, we will be sufficient,” he said when met at the 67th Annual World Congress of the International College of Angiology (ICA) 2026 in The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali, on Friday (31/7/2026).
One of the causes of the limited number of cardiologists, according to Iwan, is the low number of graduates. Every year, the number of graduating cardiovascular specialists is around 400 to 500 people.
“Since there are only about 500 graduates per year, if we add 1,000, it might take about two more years to reach 2,800 to 3,000 to satisfy the ratio of 1 to 100,000. One cardiologist for 100,000 residents,” he explained.
To accelerate the fulfilment of the need for cardiologists, Iwan stated that several hospital-based education programmes have now been opened.
“They have. In fact, several programmes have been opened that are not university-based but hospital-based. This has increased capacity and can speed up the process,” he added.
In addition to increasing the number of doctors, competency enhancement is also being undertaken through education and training abroad. Iwan mentioned that Asian countries are among the primary destinations as they provide greater opportunities for direct practical experience.
With the addition of these educational programmes, Iwan estimates that the number of cardiologists in Indonesia could reach 2,800 by the end of 2027 and approximately 3,000 by 2028 at the latest. At that level, ideally, one cardiologist would serve 100,000 residents.
“I believe by the end of next year, 2027, we can reach 2,800. At the latest, by 2028, we will reach around 3,000,” he concluded.