GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: Nearly one in four doctors across 122 countries is older than 55 and expected to retire within the next decade, raising concerns about future healthcare staffing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the global health workforce shortage could reach 11.1 million by 2030. Unequal distribution of healthcare professionals and ageing populations are adding to the pressure on health systems.
Ageing Doctors Raise Concerns
The WHO’s latest global workforce assessment highlights the growing impact of an ageing medical workforce. Published on 19 October 2026, the report, National Health Workforce Accounts: Health Workforce Levels and Trends 2026, examines global workforce numbers, regional disparities and future staffing needs.
According to the WHO’s global health workforce update, nearly one in four doctors, on average, across 122 countries is older than 55 and expected to retire within the next decade. In high-income countries, the proportion rises to nearly one in three.
The findings highlight the importance of preparing for retirements while ensuring that healthcare systems can continue to meet patient needs. The report also identifies 67 countries that will not have enough health workers by 2030 to maintain the workforce levels required to meet population health needs.
The projected global shortage of 11.1 million health workers reflects the wider challenge of ensuring an adequate workforce as populations and healthcare needs change.
Global Health Workforce Growth
Despite the projected shortage, the number of health and care workers worldwide has increased significantly over the past two decades.
The WHO reports that more than 70 million health and care workers are now available globally. The combined density of medical doctors, nursing and midwifery personnel, dentists and pharmacists increased by 52% between 2006 and 2025.
Their combined density rose from 44.8 professionals per 10,000 people in 2006 to 67.9 in 2025.
However, rising global workforce numbers do not mean that all countries have enough professionals. The overall figures mask significant differences in the availability of healthcare workers between regions and countries.
Regional Gaps Remain Significant
The availability of doctors and other healthcare professionals varies widely around the world. According to WHO data, the density of medical doctors in the European Region is 13 times higher than in the African Region.
The difference is also pronounced among nursing and midwifery personnel. Their density is six times higher in the European Region than in the African Region.
These disparities highlight the uneven distribution of healthcare resources and the challenges faced by countries with limited workforce capacity. National income is also strongly associated with health worker density, according to WHO.
Dr Khassoum Diallo, Acting Unit Head of Health Workforce Policies and Data at WHO Academy, described ageing as a hidden health workforce crisis and stressed the need for stronger workforce planning, education, employment and retention.
Better Workforce Planning Needed
The WHO findings underline the importance of preparing for the retirement of experienced medical professionals while strengthening the wider healthcare workforce.
Countries need to plan for future staffing requirements, support the training of new professionals and improve their ability to recruit and retain qualified workers. Workforce planning also requires reliable data to identify shortages and understand how healthcare professionals are distributed.
Progress in workforce data collection provides a stronger foundation for these decisions. More than 90% of WHO Member States actively reported health workforce data in 2025. The availability of such data has increased nearly 20-fold since the National Health Workforce Accounts initiative began in 2017.
The 2026 report is the first in a planned annual series. Each report will examine health workforce levels and trends, alongside a specific theme affecting future staffing needs. The first edition focuses on the combined effects of population ageing and an ageing health workforce.
Conclusion
The prospect of nearly one in four doctors retiring within the next decade adds to concerns about the global health workforce shortage.
Although the number of health and care workers has grown, regional inequalities and changing population needs continue to challenge healthcare systems.
With the global shortfall projected to reach 11.1 million by 2030, investment in education, employment, workforce retention and long-term planning will be essential to maintaining access to healthcare services.
