Germany is in need of foreign doctors for its hospitals and practices. In 2018, the number of foreign doctors increased with 7.3%.
One in eight practicioners in Germany comes from another country. In total, there are about 48.672 foreign phyisicans in the sector of patient care- almost three times more than ten years ago. If you take into account also the number of doctors awaiting accreditation, it goes up to 55.000.
Most doctors come from Romania
According to a report of the Federal Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer), published in December 2018, the majority of foreign doctors in Germany come from Romania (4312), followed by Syria (3908), Greece (2776) and Austria (2309). Most foreign doctors work in clinics, but their number is growing also in private practices.
More doctors – and more employed doctors
Last year’s statistics reported a number of 392.402 employed male and female doctors- with 1.9% higher than 2017. The number of female doctors has increased and now represents 47.2%. What is striking is the rise of outpatient physicians, their number increased to 10.6 %, that amounts to a total of 40.000 outpatient physicians.
However, the president of the Federal Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, does not think that the increase in the number of doctors is happening fast enough to cover the increasing need for treatment.
Why the need for more doctors?
Germany has the second oldest population in the world. And it keeps getting older, therefore the demand for treatment is constantly increasing.
Statistics from: https://www.bundesaerztekammer.de/weitere-sprachen/english/healthcare-system/
