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Quarter of doctors in Switzerland over 60

Doctor and patient
In 2021, 44.3% of the medical profession were women © Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

Every fourth doctor in Switzerland was over 60 years old in 2021. Of those under 45, 61% were women.

The medical profession worked in 17,233 medical practices and outpatient centres, the Federal Statistical Office said in its statistics on doctors on Tuesday. They shared 19,004 full-time positions. A total of 28.4% of these professionals were over 60 years old.

+ Doctor shortage: ‘We will have to turn patients away’

Among primary care providers, the proportion of older people was 25.5%, and in practices and centres for specialised medical services or with a mixed range of services, 29.8%. In 2021, 44.3% of the medical profession were women. Among doctors over 45, their share was 39%, while among those under 45 it was 60.7%.

Primary care practices and outpatient clinics employed 47.9% women. In specialist and mixed practices and centres, the proportion was 41.8% and 44% respectively.

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