DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Expat Info
German news & articles
Thousands of doctor vacancies in Germany remained unfilled in 2019
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

Thousands of doctor vacancies in Germany remained unfilled in 2019

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

April 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in GermanyApril 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in Germany
Sharp increase in number of people taking mental health sick days in GermanySharp increase in number of people taking mental health sick days in Germany
GP surgeries across Germany to remain closed on Monday due to strikeGP surgeries across Germany to remain closed on Monday due to strike
Pharmacies across Germany to close for strike on June 14Pharmacies across Germany to close for strike on June 14
October 2022: 12 changes affecting expats in GermanyOctober 2022: 12 changes affecting expats in Germany
September 2022: 9 changes affecting expats in GermanySeptember 2022: 9 changes affecting expats in Germany
August 2022: 8 changes affecting expats in GermanyAugust 2022: 8 changes affecting expats in Germany
July 2022: 15 changes affecting expats in GermanyJuly 2022: 15 changes affecting expats in Germany
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usImpressumSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Sep 28, 2020
Abi Carter

Editor in chief at IamExpat Media

Abi studied German and History at the University of Manchester and has since lived in Berlin, Hamburg and Utrecht, working since 2017 as a writer, editor and content marketeer. Although she's happily taken on some German and Dutch quirks, she keeps a stash of Yorkshire Tea on hand, because nowhere does a brew quite like home.Read more

5,9 percent of all general practitioner positions in Germany remained unfilled last year, according to new figures - although the shortage of doctors is not evenly spread across the country. 

Doctors unevenly distributed in Germany

Last year, there were thousands of unfilled vacancies for general practitioners across Germany. Nationwide, a total of 5,9 percent of planned positions could not be allocated. This was revealed in figures published by the federal government, in response to a request from the left-wing MP Sabine Zimmerman. 

The data shows that the greatest shortages were faced in Saarland, where 12,3 percent of all doctor positions remained unfilled in 2019. City-states like Hamburg (0 percent) and Berlin (0,7 percent), on the other hand, were much better supplied with medical staff. 

Shortages were also recorded in Saxony-Anhalt (10,4 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate (9,5 percent), Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (8,9 percent each). Overall, in the eastern (new) federal states, 6,4 percent of all general practitioner positions remained vacant, compared to 5,8 percent in the west. 

Number of doctor vacancies in Germany rising

In recent years, there has been a fluctuating rise in the overall number of doctor vacancies in Germany. In 2014, there were 2.213 vacancies, and in 2018, 2.875. But it is difficult to make direct comparisons between different years because the number of doctor positions across the country changes regularly as the federal government updates specifications and regional plans. 

Nonetheless, left-wing politician Zimmermann commented critically on the federal government’s figures: “A shortage of doctors, long distances and long waiting times have long been the norm for many patients,” she said, emphasising that, in rural areas especially, more needed to be done to ensure doctor positions are filled. 

She also called for an end to the coexistence of statutory and private health insurance in Germany, which she blamed for exacerbating the uneven distribution of doctors: “The existing higher remuneration system is also an incentive for doctors to settle in regions with above-average wages and a large number of privately-insured people.”

By Abi Carter