Infographics. Ages, numbers… Which departments are best equipped with doctors?
329,464 doctors were registered on the Roll of the French Order of Physicians on January 1, 2024. This represents an increase of 1.4% compared to January 1, 2023, indicates the Atlas of Medical Demography published this Wednesday by the Order of Physicians. The number of doctors in regular activity, however, is growing more slowly (+0.8% compared to 2023).
The number of doctors varies widely depending on the territory. “University hospital departments are seeing their numbers of doctors increase and become younger, while peripheral regions, where the population is older, are experiencing a reduction in medical numbers and an aging of their practitioners,” observes the Order of Physicianswhich “reaffirms its commitment to proposing solutions to improve access to care throughout the territory”.
Larger cities better equipped
Unsurprisingly, it is the most populated departments which bring together the largest proportions of doctors. The most well-equipped departments logically correspond to the large metropolises: Paris (18,956 doctors), Rhône (9,037 doctors), Bouches-du-Rhône (9,617 doctors), North (9,554 doctors). The number of doctors is very low in Lozère (180 doctors) or in Creuse (243 doctors).
The first victims of this concentration of doctors in large cities are the departments bordering large metropolises. The departments located around the Paris basin or the Lyon region thus display a low number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants, such as Eure (168.9) or Ain (180.9).
Feminization, diploma or salary: what territorial differences?
The feminization of the profession is observed more in Brittany or in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is thus 53.3% in the Rhône and 53.7% in Savoie.
The departments of central France are those with the most employed doctors. They are more than 50% in Corrèze (50.1%), in Creuse (51%) or in Lot (51.3%).
Doctors who obtained their diploma abroad are mainly concentrated in Île-de-France. There are 2,332 in Paris, 1,002 in Val-d’Oise and 914 in Essonne, while there are less than 100 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (88), Cantal (67) or in the Meuse (72).
Bordering departments have gained the most doctors
This territorial inequality is all the more important as it seems to be confirmed over time. Since 2010, the departments having lost the most doctors in regular activity are again located in sparsely populated and rural departments, such as Creuse (-31.5% of doctors between 2010 and 2024) or Haute-Marne (-30 %).
Conversely, the departments of the Atlantic coast, mainly Brittany, and those close to the Swiss and Italian borders experienced particularly favorable dynamics. The largest positive variations are observed in Morbihan (+16.1%) and in Hautes-Alpes (+16.1%), observes the Order of Physicians.
Younger doctors in the West
The Atlas of Medical Demography also shows a continued decline in the average age of doctors. As of January 1, 2024, it stands at 48.1 years compared to 48.6 last year for doctors in regular activity. But again, it all depends on which department you live in. The youngest departments are mainly located in the northwest of the metropolis, near the Atlantic coast. Finistère is thus the department with the most active doctors under the age of 40 (39.6%), ahead of Maine-et-Loire (38.3%) and Ille-et-Vilaine (37.9%). %).
Conversely, the departments of central France have an aging population of doctors. Lot (51.2%), Yonne (49.4%) and Lozère (48.9%) are the departments in which the proportion of doctors aged 60 or over is highest.
