Islamabad, February 8 (IANS). There was record breaking medical migration in Pakistan last year. The number of doctors leaving the country will reach its peak in 2025. Bureau of Immigration data shows that approximately 3,800 to 4,000 doctors left the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
This number is the highest ever and indicates severe pressure on Pakistan’s healthcare system. It has been reported in the report that this migration of doctors has increased rapidly in the last decade. The trend has been upward since 2010, but reached a peak in 2025. An editorial regarding this has been published in Pakistan’s leading daily The News International.
According to it, “Pakistan produces about 22,000 new doctors every year and has about 370,000 registered doctors, but for a population of about 250 million, the country will need at least 250,000 doctors to meet the WHO benchmark of one doctor per 1,000 people.”
It further reads, “Pakistan appears to be meeting this need on paper, but many registered doctors are not actively practicing. Why is our healthcare system so bad? So the first issue is the innate infrastructure and cultural problems that keep a large number of women doctors away from the workplace.”
According to a 2023 Gallup survey, 35 percent of female medical doctors do not work in Pakistan.
Some do not work due to social decisions, while others remain unemployed for other reasons.
Since transportation in Pakistan is still poor, many young female doctors choose other jobs rather than travel during the day or at night.
Most doctors in Pakistan leave the profession due to low salaries.
Previously, young doctors would hold protests where they highlighted difficult working conditions. According to an editorial in ‘The News International’, the protests have almost ended as the government has shown no interest in listening to their demands.
Healthcare facilities in Pakistan are concentrated in urban areas, meaning that seriously ill patients have to travel to select cities for medical treatment. This puts a burden on the already weak healthcare centers in urban areas of Pakistan, resulting in overworked healthcare workers.
According to the editorial, limited access to advanced healthcare infrastructure and research facilities also discourages aspiring professionals from residing in Pakistan.
Doctors often feel frustrated by the lack of modern medical equipment, training opportunities and good environment in Pakistan and move abroad, where life attracts them and where they can practice in a technologically advanced healthcare ecosystem.
–IANS
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