Health and long-term care systems employ around 10% of the total workforce across OECD countries. This includes doctors and nurses who play a central role in health systems, but also long-term care (LTC) workers.
In 2021, the average number of doctors per 1 000 population in OECD countries was 3.7 (Figure 7.10). This number ranged from 2.5 and below in Mexico, Colombia and Türkiye to over 5 in Norway, Austria, Portugal and Greece (though numbers for Greece in Portugal include non-practising doctors, see box on definitions and measurement). India, Indonesia, South Africa have less than 1 doctor per 1 000 population.
Nurses play a pivotal role in healthcare provision and make up the largest group of health workers in nearly all OECD countries. In 2021, there were 9.2 practising nurses per 1 000 population across the OECD on average (Figure 7.11) – around 2.5 times that of the average number of practising doctors. However, cross-country differences are considerable. In Colombia, Türkiye, Mexico, Chile and Greece, the ratio was under 4 nurses per 1 000 population whereas in Germany, the United States, Japan, Ireland, Australia and Iceland it was 12 or more nurses per 1 000 people. In a few countries (Norway, Finland and Switzerland), there were more than 18 nurses per 1 000 population.
In 2023, one‑third of all doctors and one fourth of nurses in OECD countries were over 55 years of age (Figure 7.11). The share of doctors aged over 55 was above 40% in Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Poland. It was highest in Estonia, Italy and Latvia at above 45%. The share of nurses aged over 55 was highest in Latvia at almost 40%. Ageing of the medical workforce is a concern, as doctors and nurses aged 55 and over can be expected to retire in the following decade or so. Proper health workforce planning is required to ensure that a sufficient number of new doctors and nurses will become available to replace them. It is also important to note that many doctors may continue to practice beyond age 65, full time or part time, if the working conditions are adequate and if pension systems do not provide a disincentive for them to do so.
As for gender distribution along the health and care workforce, women amounted to half (50%) of doctors on average across OECD countries in 2021 (Figure 7.12). This proportion ranged from over 70% in the Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) to 25% or less in Japan and Korea. Women make up the bulk of the long-term care workforce. On average across the OECD in 2021, up to 87% of LTC workers were women, and this number ranged from 78% in Japan to 95% in Korea.
