Number of specialist doctors in the UK in 2025, by specialty group
In 2025, among specialists, the most common specialty group in the UK was medicine, accounting for over 30 thousand doctors. Roughly half of which were specialized in general (internal) medicine, while nearly 3.5 thousand were cardiologists. A further nearly 20 thousand of specialists specialized in surgery and nearly 15 thousand were specialized in anesthetics and intensive care medicine.
Age breakdown of doctors
In the UK, the age group with the highest number of doctors is among 30 to 34 with nearly 66 thousand, followed by 63 thousand registered doctors aged 35 to 39 years. There are almost 13 thousand over 70s in the UK who continue to be registered doctors.
Diverse composition of health workforce
In 2024, 9.6 percent of licensed doctors in the UK graduated from the European Economic Area (EEA). The share of EEA graduates in the UK doctor’s workforce has been decreasing since 2014, when English language requirements of doctors were tightened. Furthermore, 13 percent of specialist in the UK received their primary medical qualification in the EEA, the highest share of EEA graduates among all doctors.
