The OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2025 highlights the increasingly central role migrant health workers play in sustaining healthcare systems across developed economies. Over the past two decades, the number of foreign-born doctors and nurses working in OECD countries has risen steadily, underscoring how international recruitment is helping to address workforce shortages driven by aging populations, rising healthcare demand, and uneven domestic supply. According to the report, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom have seen the largest increases in migrant health professionals and remain the top destinations overall.
Together, these three countries host the majority of foreign-born and foreign-trained doctors and nurses across the OECD. Despite continued investments in domestic medical education, the share of migrant doctors has grown from 21 percent to 28 percent…
