Portugal medical workforce 2024: one-third under 35, women 65% of doctors

In 2024 Portugal had 46,131 practising doctors, of which 65% were women and 32.9% were younger than 35. Doctors over 65 accounted for 7.3% and the proportion of women declined with age. Specialists comprised 86.8% of doctors, the third‑highest share in the EU after Greece and Bulgaria, with paediatrics representing 9% of specialist posts.

The data, compiled by the National Statistics Institute (INE) from employment surveys and public administration records, also show 12,796 active dentists – three times the 2002 level – and 87,843 nurses, more than double the 2002 figure. Foreign doctors made up 8.9% of the workforce in 2024, projected to rise to 9.5% in 2025, mainly Brazilians, Italians and Spaniards. The dentist‑to‑population ratio was 1.12 per 1,000, highest in the Greater Porto area (1.72) and Viseu Dão Lafões (1.57). Nurse density was 7.7 per 1,000, reaching 14.4 in the most served region.