As of April 2025, around 39 percent of professionally active licensed physicians in the United States were women. This has increased by one percent compared to the previous year. Over half, 51 percent, of physicians in the District of Columbia were women, the highest share of female physicians in the country. On the other hand, Idaho had the lowest share of female physicians in the U.S. at 29 percent.

According to a 2023 survey, 62 percent of Ob/Gyns were female, the specialty with the highest share of female doctors in the U.S., followed by pediatrics. On the other hand, the medical specialties with the lowest share of female physicians were Orthopedics, Urology, and Cardiology.

Introduction

Male and Female Doctor Statistics: Male and female doctors play a crucial role in the medical industry, significantly impacting healthcare across various fields. Traditionally, the profession has been male-dominated, but in recent years, gender dynamics have shifted noticeably. The increasing number of women in healthcare has led to more gender diversity, especially in clinical and leadership roles.

Recent statistics indicate a steady increase in the proportion of female doctors, gradually narrowing the gender gap that once favoured men. However, male doctors continue to dominate in certain fields, particularly those that require physical strength, and maintain a stronger presence in senior leadership positions within healthcare organisations. These shifting gender trends are impacting the future of the medical profession, influencing patient care and the broader structure of healthcare delivery.

In the United States, there are more male doctors than female. In 2023, the share of female doctors amounted to just **** percent, although this has increased by *** percent compared to 2021. However, there were large variations depending on the specialty. ************* were most likely to be women (among the major specialties**). Meanwhile, only ***** other specialties had more female than male physicians.

The number of male physicians outnumbers female physicians in the U.S. in most specialties. The only major exceptions are found in pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, although female physicians do slightly outnumber males in a few other specialties. As of 2021, there were around 68,400 male family medicine/general practice physicians compared to 50,000 women in this specialty. Physicians in the U.S. Both the number of doctors and rate of doctors in the U.S. have increased over the years. As of 2021, there were around 946,800 active doctors of medicine in the U.S. This was around 29.9 physicians per 10,000 civilian population. In 1995, this rate stood at 24.2 physicians per 10,000 population. Physicians by state The states with the highest overall number of active physicians are California, New York, Texas, and Florida. However, the states with the highest rate of physicians per 10,000 civilian population include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The District of Columbia has the highest rate of physicians by a large margin, with around 74.6 physicians per 10,000 population. The state with the highest annual compensation for physicians is Oklahoma, where physicians earn an annual average of 337,000 dollars.

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• In 2022, the number of female first-year medical students in the United States marginally increased to 12,630. Women comprised 55.6 % of all first-year medical students in the United States.
• Females (77%) rated the importance of both spouses' careers in a relationship higher than males (56%).
• The percentage of women in the 47 top specialties ranged from 12.9% in sports medicine (orthopedic surgery) programs to 83.8% in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.
• The World Health Organization i.e., WHO, estimates that women comprise approximately 70% of the health workforce globally. However, this figure includes many healthcare professions beyond just doctors.
• A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia in 2019 found that female doctors earned, on average, 24.1% less than male doctors.

As of 2025, the number of female physicians in the U.S. amounted to *******, which represents ** percent of the total active licensed physicians in the country. That year, California had the highest number of female physicians in the country, with roughly ****** female physicians.

In 2025, out of the *** thousand registered doctors in the United Kingdom, *** thousand were men and *** thousand were women. There was a more pronounced gender gap among specialist doctors in the UK, with ** thousand men to nearly ** thousand women qualified on the specialist register. Although on the GP register, women outnumber men with over ** thousand female GPs to nearly ** thousand male GPs. Gender distribution of UK doctors by age While there are **** male doctors than female doctors in total, the gender distribution of doctors in the UK looks different depending on the age group. Female doctors ********* their male counterpart in all age groups under 45 years old. Therefore, as more doctors retire, the proportion of female doctors will increase. Worldwide make-up of doctors in the UK Although the majority of medical practitioners in the UK received their medical qualification from within the UK, there is still a significant number of doctors who graduated outside the UK. As of 2024, some ** percent of registered doctors in the UK are from the European Economic Area (EEA) while a further third are international medical graduates (IMG) indicating the reliance of the NHS on immigration to support the organization’s workforce.

Forecast: Share of Female Practising Physicians Aged 35-44 in Germany 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global Share of Female Physicians Aged 45-54 by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Forecast: Share of Female Physicians Aged 45-54 in the US 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In 2022, the share of female licensed physicians in the United States and the District of Columbia stood at **** percent. This included both Doctors of Medicine and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine. In comparison, just ***** in *** physicians were women in 2010.

Forecast: Share of Female Physicians Aged 45-54 in Italy 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

This statistic shows the distribution of specialist physicians in Canada from 1978 to 2023, sorted by gender. In 2022, nearly 41 percent of specialty doctors in Canada were female, and some 59 percent were male.

Forecast: Share of Female Physicians Aged 45-54 in Japan 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Global Share of Female Practising Physicians by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Forecast: Share of Female Physicians Aged 45-54 in Germany 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Forecast: Share of Female Practising Physicians in the US 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: Physicians and surgeons occupations: 16 years and over: Women (LEU0254701200A) from 2000 to 2019 about surgeons, physicians, medical, occupation, full-time, females, salaries, workers, 16 years +, wages, employment, and USA.

In Italy, the percentage of women among doctors under 60 years amounted to 57 percent in 2021. Among female doctors aged under 50, the percentage of women was even higher with 60 percent.