The latest data from the Swiss Medical Association (FMH) has revealed that four in 10 doctors in Switzerland were trained abroad. With the number of non-Swiss physicians having doubled in the last 20 years, the FMH is worried that the country is too reliant on expats.

40 percent of doctors in Switzerland trained abroad

According to the latest data, of the 42.602 doctors working in Switzerland at the end of 2024, 41,3 percent of them completed their medical studies abroad. The ratio of non-Swiss to local doctors is therefore more than double the OECD average of 19 percent.

The FMH added that the share of doctors with non-Swiss diplomas has more than doubled in the last few decades, going from 17 percent in 2003 to 41 percent today. German doctors make up the largest contingent of foreign doctors at 49,4 percent of the total, followed by Italian (9,7 percent), French (7,1 percent) and Austrian (6 percent) physicians.

Doctor shortage grips Swiss cantons

Though there is no question that expat doctors are just as proficient as those trained at Swiss universities, the FMH is concerned that the country is becoming too reliant on practitioners from abroad. “We have trained far too few doctors over the past 20 years,” FMH president Yvonne Gilli told SRF.

Though the number of Swiss-taught doctors is increasing, it is nowhere near enough to fill the growing shortage of healthcare professionals. SRF noted that while there should be at least one doctor per 1.000 people in order to maintain the healthcare system, Switzerland only has 0,8.

Gilli added that their main concern is that working in Switzerland will gradually become less attractive for expats. As it stands, while a doctor can expect to earn around 107.000 euros a year in Germany - a large share of which is taken by German taxes - the same physician could pay less tax and earn more if they took a job in Switzerland. Junior doctors earn around 110.000 francs a year, while the average salary for a specialist stands at around 220.000 francs a year.

Switzerland vulnerable if fewer doctors immigrate, FMH argues

However, with European governments taking measures to ease their own doctor shortages through incentives and better pay, the FMH is worried that Switzerland will become less attractive for expats, and will soon have to rely on its own supply of trained doctors to fill shortages. "We are already seeing that immigration from Germany is declining. This will become even more pronounced," Gilli added.

Therefore, Gilli called on the government to increase the number of doctors being trained in Switzerland. She also suggested that working hours be reduced and made more flexible, to make a medical career in the alpine nation more attractive.

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