International migration and movement of doctors to and within OECD countries - 2000
to 2018
Developments in countries of destination and impact on countries of origin
This paper presents the most recent data on the number of migrant doctors in the health
workforce in the OECD countries, as well as the impact these regular migration flows
have on the countries of origin, including an analysis of the developments since 2000.
The objective of this paper is to inform policy dialogue at the national and international
levels.
The share of migrant doctors has continued to rise over the last two decades across
the OECD countries, with around two-thirds of all foreign-born or foreign-trained
doctors originating from within the OECD area and upper-middle-income countries. The
lower-middle-income countries account for around 30% and low-income countries for
3-4% of the foreign-born and 4% of the foreign-trained doctors. In countries of origin
that are large, migration to (other) OECD countries has a moderate impact, but some
of the relatively smaller countries or those with weak health systems experience significant
losses of (needed) health professionals.
Published on February 24, 2021
In series:OECD Health Working Papersview more titles