Report: India requires 2 billion square feet of healthcare space to meet the country’s current demands

According to a global healthcare report by Knight Frank, the real estate consultancy, global investment in healthcare real estate has reached $38 billion, accounting for about 4.3% of global real estate funding. India needs an additional 2 billion square feet of real estate to meet the needs of its current population, as the country’s bed-to-population ratio stands at 1.3 beds for every 1,000 people. India’s healthcare sector has grown at an average annual rate of 18 percent and accelerated with the pandemic as it strained the healthcare sector’s infrastructure and service delivery.

India currently has a deficit of 2 billion square feet in healthcare space to meet the needs of its 1.42 billion population. The deficit is 1.7 beds for every 1,000 people. To meet the needs of the current population, 2.4 million additional beds need to be built. This gap presents an opportunity for both public and private players to expand their presence in the healthcare sector in India. According to the report by Knight Frank India, the challenge of India’s population-to-bed ratio combined with its growing population highlights the urgent need for significant improvements in the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

To meet this demand, it is necessary to almost double the existing real estate capacity to meet the growing healthcare needs of the population, said Baijal. “In the post-pandemic world, healthcare is one of the most sought-after investment opportunities for long-term income-generators,” he added. Baijal also cited a survey conducted by Knight Frank’s Attitudes Survey which showed that nearly a quarter of the Indian Ultra-High Net Worth Individuals had expressed interest in investing in healthcare-related assets in the year 2023.