Indian doctors and nurses have become indispensable to the health systems of advanced economies, according to the International Migration Outlook 2025 released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on November 4.
The report says India is now the single largest source of migrant doctors and the second-largest source of migrant nurses working across OECD’s 38 member countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia. The findings reflect how dependent these countries have become on foreign-trained health workers — a “lifeline and a vulnerability,” the OECD warns.
In 2020-21, about 98,857 Indian-born doctors and 122,400 Indian-born nurses were employed in OECD nations — a jump of 76 % and 435 % respectively since 2000-01.
Together, OECD countries host more than 8.3 lakh foreign-born doctors and 1.75 million foreign-born nurses, making up roughly a quarter and one-sixth of their total workforce in each profession. Asia accounts for around 40 % of migrant doctors and 37 % of migrant nurses, with India leading the pack alongside Germany, China and the Philippines.
Country-wise data show that the UK hosts 17,250 India-trained doctors, forming 23 % of all foreign-trained doctors in Britain’s National Health Service.
In the US, there are 16,800 India-trained doctors, about 8 % of its foreign-trained workforce, while Canada employs around 3,900, and Australia has about 6,000 — 10 % of its overseas-trained doctors.
India-trained nurses dominate these systems as well: 36,000 in the UK, 55,000 in the US, 7,000 in Canada and 8,000 in Australia.
Between 2000 and 2021, the number of Indian-trained nurses abroad grew more than fourfold — from 23,000 to 1.22 lakh. Doctors rose from 56,000 to nearly 99,000.
The OECD attributes this surge to India’s vast medical education network, English-language proficiency and targeted recruitment by member countries. Yet it also flags the risk of “brain drain”, noting that India features on the World Health Organization’s Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List — identifying nations already facing critical healthcare shortages.
Many countries have eased migration rules for health workers. The UK’s Health and Care Worker Visa allows faster entry, while Canada’s fast-track credential recognition helps nurses trained in India find employment sooner.
However, the OECD notes that long licensing delays and unclear recognition procedures still prevent many professionals from working at their skill level. In several countries, migrant doctors and nurses end up in lower-ranked roles despite advanced qualifications.
The OECD concludes that migrant doctors and nurses are “increasingly vital” for sustaining healthcare in rich nations. Shortages, it adds, are structural rather than temporary, and will deepen without international recruitment.
For now, Indian medical professionals remain the backbone of hospitals and clinics from London to Melbourne — a quiet workforce holding up the world’s health systems, even as India’s own hospitals feel the pinch.