47% of physicians are 55 or older: 8 things to know about the physician workforce

Of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, 46.7 percent were 55 or older, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges' "2022 Physician Specialty Data Report."

The report is based on data from the American Medical Association, the Census Bureau, and a national resident database and tracking system. Overall, the AAMC report covers about 950,000 physicians and physicians in training among 48 of the largest specialties in 2021.

Here are eight things to know about the physician workforce in 2021:

  1. The specialties with the largest numbers of active physicians:
    • Primary care specialties of internal medicine — 120,342 
    • Family medicine and general practice — 118,641 
    • Pediatrics — 60,305

  2. Female physicians made up 37.1 percent of the active physician workforce. Percentages of women in the 48 top specialties ranged from a high of 65 percent in pediatrics to a low of 5.9 percent in orthopedic surgery.

  3. Nearly half of active physicians were 55 and older. Percentages of this age group in individual specialties ranged from 92.4 percent in pulmonary disease to 9 percent in sports medicine.

  4. The specialties with the highest percentages of active physicians practicing in the same state where they trained:
    • Child and adolescent psychiatry — 57 percent 
    • Family medicine/general practice — 56 percent
    • Psychiatry — 55.5 percent

  5. The specialties with the lowest percentages of active physicians practicing in the same state where they trained:
    • Sports medicine (orthopedic surgery) — 24.3 percent 
    • Thoracic surgery — 29.2 percent
    • Plastic surgery — 33 percent

  6. Sports medicine had the largest growth among specialities at 42.5 percent.

  7. Practicing physicians identified as the following races and ethnicities:
    • White — 63.9 percent
    • Asian — 20.6 percent
    • Hispanic — 6.9 percent
    • Black — 5.7 percent
    • Multiple races —1.3 percent
    • Other — 1.1 percent
    • American Indian or Alaska Native — 0.3 percent
    • Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander — 0.1 percent

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