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How many ambulances are there in the world?
Hello! Thanks for your question about the number of ambulances in the world, both military and civilian. The short version is that after searching extensively through World Health Organization reports, military documents, and publications by health industry analysts, I’ve determined that the information you requested is not publicly available because not every country has publicly revealed the number of ambulances in their healthcare network or military. However, I was able to find the statistics for many countries and militaries, and major manufacturers of ambulances in order to get an idea of the landscape. Below you will find a deep dive of my research and methodology.
METHODOLOGY
After searching exhaustively, I have not been able to find any statistic that provides a number for the world’s ambulances. To get an idea of the figure in the United States, I visited the National Association of Emergency Medical Practitioners. However, they did not provide a specific, updated number of ambulances. I also looked into statistics published by major players in pre-hospital care, such as Zoll and Envision Healthcare, who did provide statistics for the United States, though the reports were published in 2003. I was unable to find any updated documents.
Internationally, I looked at the European Union through an ambulance transport report by Nivel. Taking a look at the military angle, I looked into the most common kind of medical ambulance, the Humvee. To get an idea of how many each military uses, I looked into the number of Humvees built, but was unable to find a breakdown of how many Humvees were equipped to be ambulances, rather than another method of transportation. Another obstacle is the conflicting reports on how many ambulances each country has reported.
HELPFUL FINDINGS
While I could not find a direct answer to your question, I was able to gather some information about this topic, which I think will be helpful for your project.
According to a 2007 press release by the Province of the Eastern Cape Health Department, the national standard for South Africa is to have one ambulance per 10,000 residents, as of 2010.
NOTE: Statistics gathered from the Nivel 2015 report are sourced on page 19, table 3.7, unless otherwise noted.
The United States: As of 2003, there were 35,000-48,000 ambulances. Specifically, American Medical Response "is the country's largest medical transportation company," and has "more than 6,600 ambulances" in its fleet alone. The US Military has built over 180,000 Humvees.
Eastern Cape, South Africa: 500 ambulances, as of 2015. This is a significant improvement from 2007, when they had one ambulance for every 30,000 residents.
MILITARY
Most of the military statistics, unfortunately, do not specify what percentage of the Humvees were assigned to be ambulances.
United States: In 2010, AM General was awarded a six-year $428.3 million military contract to " provide the National Guard 654 M997A3 HMMWV Ambulance Chassis Vehicles." The US currently has
Afghanistan: In 2013, the US Army completed a program that transferred vehicles to the Afghan National Army. "More than 950 vehicles . . . were involved in the program that lasted about two and one-half years."
POSSIBLE CONTINUED RESEARCH
In understanding what types of information are and are not publicly available on this topic, I’ve suggested a few other routes you may be interested in researching:
--Given that ambulance statistics are varied, perhaps consider taking a look at the statistics for a specific nation or region.
--Because of the international incentive to better medical care in impoverished nations, there is a wealth of information on the increase of ambulance use in rural and impoverished areas. Many nations have donated their own equipment to ailing or war-torn nations.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, after searching extensively through military press releases and arms deals, World Health Organization reports, and the reports of major industry players, I found that the information you requested is not publicly available. However, I learned that there are many deals--both civilian and military--happening with foreign countries that are trying to increase ambulance usage in impoverished or underdeveloped areas. If you’d like to continue research on any of the other topics I’ve outlined above, just let us know!
Thanks for using Wonder!