Austria faces shortage of 18,000 doctors within the next decade

The Austrian Medical Chamber presented its 2025 doctor statistics, reporting a workforce of 53,353 physicians with women now comprising 50.4 % of the total. Over one‑third (32.7 %) of doctors are older than 55, and in the coming ten years an estimated 18,346 physicians will reach the retirement age of 65. To maintain current service levels, the chamber estimates a yearly replacement need of roughly 1,836 new doctors.

While the overall number of physicians has risen, the share of general practitioners has fallen and vacancies are especially acute in rural areas. In Burgenland, a single municipality issued 22 calls for a family doctor without success, and vacancies for gynecologists and dermatologists reach 15 % and 30 % respectively. The shortage is aggravated by the migration of newly qualified doctors to Germany, Switzerland, or the private sector, where wages and working conditions are perceived as better. The chamber urges systemic measures to secure medical provision, citing uneven distribution, insufficient monitoring of waiting times, and unstable financing of the health fund as additional challenges.