The Medical Council of New Zealand's annual Workforce Surveys provides one of the most comprehensive snapshots of the country's medical workforce.
Key findings from the latest 2025 report include:
20,530 practising doctors, up 2.6% from 2024.
Women now make up 49.6% of the workforce.
Māori (5.5%) and Pacific (2.7%) representation continues to grow, particularly among younger doctors.
International medical graduates remain essential to New Zealand's health system, especially in regional and rural communities.
Emergency medicine and diagnostic radiology have experienced some of the strongest growth in vocational registrations since 2020.
The reports and data are valuable for anyone interested in:
medical workforce planning
recruitment and retention
workforce diversity
regional healthcare access
international medical graduates
specialty workforce trends
Read the full report: MCNZ Workforce Survey 2025 and recent media coverage celebrating the growing number of Pasifika doctors in the doctor latest cohort.
