Ageing healthcare workforce - Regions — Active physicians by country
This dataset presents indicators on physicians ageing across large regions (TL2), and small regions (TL3) where available. Data definition and source Doctors (physicians) are usually generalists who assume responsibility for the provision of continuing care to individuals and families, or specialists such as...
What the numbers show
Ageing healthcare workforce - Regions — Active physicians is currently reported for 45 countries. The highest value is 6.74 Per 1 000 inhabitants in Greece; the lowest is 0.69 Per 1 000 inhabitants in Costa Rica.
The median across all reporting countries is 3.89 Per 1 000 inhabitants, and the mean is 3.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 10.
Over the past decade 43 countries rose and 2 fell. The largest increase was in Chile (up 186.0%), and the largest decrease in Mexico (down 41.0%).
Ageing healthcare workforce - Regions — Active physicians: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 6.74 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.8% | rising |
| 1 | Türkiye | 2.39 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 35.8% | rising |
| 2 | Portugal | 5.98 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 3 | Italy | 5.65 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 44.9% | rising |
| 4 | Austria | 5.64 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 12.4% | rising |
| 5 | Montenegro | 5.46 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 30.6% | rising |
| 6 | Norway | 5.07 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 7 | Russia | 4.89 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | down 2.0% | rising |
| 8 | Czechia | 4.84 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 26.4% | rising |
| 9 | Switzerland | 4.73 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.5% | rising |
| 10 | Lithuania | 4.67 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 11 | Germany | 4.66 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 12 | Spain | 4.64 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 22.1% | rising |
| 13 | Sweden | 4.63 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 14.6% | rising |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 4.63 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 15 | Denmark | 4.56 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 16 | Hungary | 4.51 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 13.6% | rising |
| 17 | Australia | 4.49 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 23.4% | rising |
| 18 | Cyprus | 4.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 49.5% | rising |
| 19 | Croatia | 4.1 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 29.3% | rising |
| 20 | Ireland | 4.09 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2025 | up 30.3% | rising |
| 21 | Malta | 3.98 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2018 | up 30.5% | rising |
| 22 | Netherlands | 3.91 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 18.1% | rising |
| 23 | Iceland | 3.89 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 24 | Poland | 3.86 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 67.1% | rising |
| 25 | Romania | 3.81 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 41.1% | rising |
| 26 | Estonia | 3.58 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 6.5% | rising |
| 27 | Slovenia | 3.57 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 28.9% | rising |
| 28 | Finland | 3.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2021 | up 7.4% | rising |
| 28 | Israel | 3.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 19.9% | falling |
| 30 | France | 3.44 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2025 | up 3.6% | flat |
| 31 | Latvia | 3.41 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 5.9% | rising |
| 32 | New Zealand | 3.4 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 37.7% | rising |
| 33 | Serbia | 3.28 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 5.8% | rising |
| 34 | United States | 3.23 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2022 | up 30.8% | falling |
| 35 | Belgium | 3.02 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 2.0% | falling |
| 36 | Luxembourg | 2.98 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2017 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 37 | United Kingdom | 2.95 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2019 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 38 | Peru | 2.83 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | up 34.8% | rising |
| 39 | Japan | 2.7 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 14.4% | rising |
| 40 | Chile | 2.46 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2022 | up 186.0% | volatile |
| 41 | Canada | 2.41 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2024 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 42 | Colombia | 2.34 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2020 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 43 | Mexico | 1.02 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2023 | down 41.0% | rising |
| 44 | Costa Rica | 0.69 Per 1 000 inhabitants | 2021 | up 30.2% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Slovak Republic 3.95 Per 1 000 inhabitants
- Korea 2.74 Per 1 000 inhabitants
- China (People's Republic of) 2.04 Per 1 000 inhabitants
About this data
This dataset presents indicators on physicians ageing across large regions (TL2), and small regions (TL3) where available. Data definition and source Doctors (physicians) are usually generalists who assume responsibility for the provision of continuing care to individuals and families, or specialists such as paediatricians, obstetricians/gynaecologists, psychiatrists, medical specialists and surgical specialists. Age groups cover total, 55–64, and 65 years and over. Data is collected from Eurostat (reg_hlth) for EU countries and via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites. Definition of regions Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). For more information, see the OECD Territorial grid (pdf) and the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table (xlsx). Cite this dataset OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database http://oe.cd/geostats. Further information OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance For questions and/or comments, please email RegionStat@oecd.org.