In 2024 there were 1,672 more doctors. According to figures from the 2024 edition of the Atlas of Medical Demography, published on Wednesday, October 2, by the Order of Physicians, the number of doctors in regular activity (excluding substitutes and active retirees) in France increased by 0.8% reaching 199,089 professionals on 1Ahem January 2024.
This figure has been decreasing since 2010, with the exception of timid increases in 2018 and 2020, and has now returned to a level comparable to that observed in 2014. “There is a tremor in medical demographics”commented Dr. Jean-Marcel Mourgues, vice president of the national council of the order of doctors.
“The number of doctors working regularly is finally increasing. Not much, but they are increasing”he added. For him, his squad is now “on a slightly rising plateau”. “This trend is expected to continue and even increase in the coming years”declared.
The average age of doctors falls
Another quite encouraging sign from a demographic point of view is that the average age of doctors continues to decline, to 48.1 years, compared to 48.6 last year among doctors in regular practice.
Medical density – the number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants – increases very slightly, to 296.4 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 294.7 last year. But this gross density must be taken with caution, because the population ages and its care needs increase, reminds Dr. Mourgues.
In standardized medical density, which takes into account the aging of the population, “I think we are on a plateau”WHO “it must continue to be the brand of the decade 2020 to 2030”says Dr. Mourgues.
“Afterwards, it is likely that from 2030”standardized medical density “will increase slowly at first, then more and more rapidly”with important benefits for the population, he hopes.
Medical demographics have been suffering for several years from the effects of numerus clausus, a policy of controlling the number of medical students that began in the 1970s and reached its peak in the 1990s, with only 3,500 students trained each year.
The quota was first relaxed in the late 1990s (up to 7,000 in the early 2010s) and then abolished under President Emmanuel Macron. The number of students trained today reaches 11,000 (number of second-year medical students), and should be 12,000 in 2025.
Territorial inequalities are widening
On the other hand, other signs are unlikely to reassure the inhabitants of medical deserts. “Territorial inequalities are increasing”points out Dr. Mourgues. “Departments that have university hospitals, with rare exceptions, tend to increase and rejuvenate their medical population”precise.
The global workshops
Online courses, evening classes, workshops: develop your skills
Discover
On the other hand, “There are rather peripheral departments of the region, often with a rural profile and with an elderly population – aggravating for the provision of care – that has a medical population that continues to age and that is not rejuvenated enough”duck.
According to the Atlas, these are like this “the departments located in the center of the metropolis, around the Paris basin, which are the least equipped”such as Indre (145.9 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants), Eure (147.4) or Cher (152.2).
“On the contrary, the departments that house the large cities of France, as well as those located on the coasts or borders, have the highest densities: Paris (697.4), Hautes-Alpes (432.4) or even the Rhône (414) ».
In terms of medical density per person over 65 years of age – those who a priori will need more care – the most degraded situations are found in Indre (514.8 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants over 65 years of age), Creuse (546.5) and Nièvre (568.4). ).
