Pakistan saw a record number of doctors leave the country in 2025, intensifying concerns about long-term strain on the healthcare system despite steady production of medical graduates.
A Gallup Pakistan analysis of Bureau of Emigration data shows that roughly 3,800 to 4,000 doctors emigrated last year, the highest annual figure ever recorded. The sharp rise marks a significant shift from previous decades, when annual departures remained in the hundreds.
Although Pakistan produces about 22,000 new doctors each year and has nearly 370,000 registered medical professionals, officials say these figures overstate actual capacity. Many registered doctors are either unemployed, working outside clinical practice, or already based abroad.
With a population of around 250 million, Pakistan requires at least 250,000 practicing doctors to meet the World Health Organisation’s minimum standard. While the country appears to meet this benchmark on paper, experts warn the growing exodus is eroding effective availability on the ground.
Gallup notes that doctor migration began accelerating after 2010 and has continued to rise steadily, reaching a historic peak in 2025. Researchers describe the trend as a structural change, raising concerns that Pakistan’s health sector may be increasingly training doctors for overseas markets rather than retaining them to meet domestic needs.
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Yet our Chief of Army Staff Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Hafiz Syed Asim Munir Shah has the audacity to say that our nation has a “brain gain”.
Unfortunately there are multiple factors leading to this situation. If 4000 have moved to abroad, that means almost 4 times or more had applied for moving, but only those 4000 who were lucky or “more competent” were able to make it. Hence the more talented provide their services in abroad while the left out remain for this country which is a major loss and would lead to a systematic collapse of our healthcare in future.
For the new graduates, major challenge is the existing health system largely overtaken by quacks in city slums, suburban and rural areas. Government actions taken against them are largely symbolical as inspectors take bribe and momentarily show them closed on paper while taking no solid step. These quacks who are playing with the public life are more acceptable to mass of people mainly because of low cost quick acting services they provide i.e. lacking healthy practices, quality medicines, procedural precautions, hygiene and having short term relief but long term health losses.