U.S. physician workforce tops 1 million

The physician workforce reached 1,044,734 in 2022, according to a census conducted by the Federation of State Medical Boards and published July 18 in the Journal of Medical Regulation.

Data from the census was pulled from FSMB's Physician Data Center and includes full unrestricted licenses to practice in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in 2022.

Here are eight more things to know from the census:

1. The U.S. physician workforce increased by 23 percent from 2010 to 2022.
2. Eighty-nine percent of physicians hold an MD degree while 11 percent hold a DO degree.
3. The number of physicians with a DO degree increased 89 percent from 2010 to 2022.
4. Eighty-five percent of physicians held specialty certifications in 2022, up from 77 percent in 2010.
5. Physicians in 2022 held degrees from 2,200 medical schools across 169 countries.
6. The mean age of physicians has increased from 50.7 in 2010 to 51.9 in 2022.
7. The number of physicians age 60 and older rose by 54 percent from 2010 to 2022.
8. The proportion of female physicians in the workforce grew to 37 percent in 2022, up from 30 percent in 2010.