Europe’s dependence on foreign-trained doctors and nurses is deepening, raising concerns about the sustainability of its health systems, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report released this week.
The WHO’s European region, which spans 53 countries across Europe and Central Asia, is projected to face a deficit of 950,000 health workers by 2030. To fill the gap, countries have increasingly turned to foreign recruitment, a trend that has accelerated sharply over the past decade.
According to the report, between 2014 and 2023 the number of new doctors entering Europe’s workforce nearly tripled, while the number of nurses rose fivefold. Much of this increase has been driven by foreign-trained professionals: the number of overseas-trained doctors rose 58 per cent during that period, while foreign-trained nurses surged 67 per cent. By 2023, six in ten new doctors and nearly three-quarters of new nurses in the region were trained abroad.
Germany and the United Kingdom accounted for the bulk of this growth, drawing medical staff from both within Europe and farther afield, including Asia, Africa, and the Americas. But the shift has created sharp regional imbalances. Eastern and southern European countries are losing doctors and nurses to wealthier nations in the north and west, leaving their own health systems under strain.
“This is not just about numbers,” said Dr. Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, head of WHO Europe’s country health policies and systems team. “Behind every migrating doctor or nurse is a story of ambition and opportunity, but also, often, of strain on families and on the national health systems they left behind.”
The challenges are expected to intensify in the years ahead as Europe’s population ages and demand for care rises. Retirement is also looming large in the sector: in some countries, more than 40 per cent of doctors are already aged 55 or older, raising the risk of a wave of exits from the workforce that will be hard to replace domestically.
According to the report, this demographic pressure will “inevitably ramp up the pressure for active international recruitment,” deepening Europe’s reliance on foreign-trained workers.
The WHO urged governments to adopt stronger strategies to retain domestic health staff and better plan for future workforce needs. Officials recommended policies that take into account the different forms of migration, including permanent relocation, temporary contracts, and cross-border commuting, while addressing the impact on both sending and receiving countries.
“Health worker migration is a reality in Europe’s interconnected labour market, and it must be managed more fairly and sustainably,” Dr. Azzopardi-Muscat said.
The report underscores a critical dilemma: while migration helps fill immediate gaps in countries facing shortages, it risks hollowing out health systems in others, leaving the region struggling to balance urgent needs with long-term sustainability.
