The number of foreign-trained doctors working in OECD countries increased by 50% between 2006 and 2016 (to reach nearly 500 000 in 2016), while the number of foreign-trained nurses increased by 20% over the five-year period from 2011 to 2016 (to reach nearly 550 000). The United States is still the main country of destination of foreign-trained doctors and nurses, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany. The number of foreign-trained doctors has also increased rapidly over the past decade in some European countries like Ireland, France, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.

The migration of health professionals takes place in a broader context of larger migration trends, including the increasing migration of highly-skilled workers and changes to the configuration of the European Union. There has been a steady rise in highly-skilled migration to OECD countries over the past 15 years: the number of tertiary-educated immigrants in the OECD more than doubled between 2000 and 2015.

In absolute terms, the United States remains the main country of destination for migrant doctors and nurses. Of all foreign-born health workers who practise in OECD countries, 42% of doctors and 45% of nurses practise in the United States (Figure 1.5). This is roughly equal to the share of all foreign-born highly-skilled people in OECD countries working in the United States (41%). The United Kingdom is the second country of destination for doctors, receiving 13% of all foreign-born doctors who practise in OECD countries, followed by Germany (11%). This ranking is reversed for nurses, with Germany in second place (15%) followed by the United Kingdom (11%).