India requires an additional two billion square feet of healthcare real estate to meet the current needs of its population, given the existing bed-to-population ratio of 1.3 beds per 1,000 people, as per a Knight Frank global healthcare report.
The report highlights that global investments in healthcare real estate have reached $38 billion, constituting around 4.3 percent of total global real estate financing. India’s healthcare industry has experienced an annual average growth rate of 18 percent, with the pandemic accelerating the sector’s expansion due to increased demand for infrastructure and service delivery.
With a current population of 1.42 billion people, India faces a deficit of two billion square feet in healthcare space. The existing shortage of 1.7 beds per 1,000 people necessitates an additional 2.4 million beds to adequately serve the population. This gap presents an opportunity for both public and private players to expand their presence in the Indian healthcare industry.
Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India, emphasizes that India’s population-to-bed ratio challenge, coupled with population growth, underscores the urgent need for substantial improvements in healthcare infrastructure. The report suggests that addressing this demand requires nearly doubling the current real estate capacity to effectively meet the expanding healthcare needs of the population. Post-pandemic, healthcare emerges as a prominent investment avenue for those seeking long-term income-generating assets, with approximately one-fourth of Indian ultra-high net worth individuals expressing interest in healthcare-related investments in 2023, according to Knight Frank’s Attitudes Survey.