A structural international workforce challenge
The World Health Organization expects a global shortage of approximately 11 million health professionals by 2030. The greatest absolute vulnerability lies in low- and lower-middle-income countries, while high-income countries also face ageing workforces, regional shortages and insufficient inflow into critical disciplines.
Europe
In 2025 the European Commission reported a shortage of approximately 1.2 million doctors, nurses and midwives in the European Union. The age profile is also unfavourable: in twelve EU countries more than 40% of physicians were aged 55 or over in 2022, increasing the risk of accelerated exits in the coming years.
International dependence
According to the OECD, on average about 20% of physicians and 9% of nurses in OECD countries were trained outside the country where they work. Between 2010 and the latest measurement period, the number of foreign-trained physicians in OECD countries rose by 62% and foreign-trained nurses by 71%.
United States
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. The range varies by scenario and includes both primary care and medical and surgical specialties.
China as a large medical training and labour market
The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported approximately 5.29 million licensed doctors and assistant doctors and 6.03 million registered nurses at the end of 2025. This scale does not mean professionals are automatically available for international placement. Selection must be voluntary, individual and ethical, while protecting healthcare capacity in the source country.
Why recruitment alone is insufficient
The bottleneck is often not finding a name but achieving safe deployability. Diploma recognition, specialist recognition, language, immigration, professional good standing, procedural competence, local privileges and clinical onboarding determine whether international mobility genuinely adds capacity.
International mobility is an additional strategy. It does not replace national training, retention, workforce planning or improvement of working conditions.
Ethical conditions
The WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel was amended in 2026. It emphasises protection of migrant health workers, sustainable mobility and co-investment in the health systems of source and destination countries. Chimedics Exchange applies these principles when assessing projects.