The Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) publishes the demographic data of health professions (doctors, physiotherapists, pharmacists, dental surgeons, midwives and podiatrists) on 1is January 2026 as well as results on the demographics of employed nurses until 2023.
The shared directory of professionals involved in the health system (RPPS) is the unique reference directory for identifying health professionals. It brings together information on professionals working in the health system. When it was created, the RPPS only concerned the four medical professions with an Order (doctors, pharmacists, dentists, midwives). Since then, he has gradually integrated other health professions: physiotherapists in 2017, chiropodists-podiatrists in 2018, and all the professions previously listed in the ADELI directory in 2024 including nurses.
5,000 additional doctors are active in France as of January 1, 2026
242,200 doctors are active in France as of 1is January 2026, or 5,000 more than a year earlier. At 1is January 2026, 101,000 doctors are general practitioners and 141,200 doctors practice other specialties. The number of the former increases again + 1.0% in one year and that of the latter continues to increase sharply (+ 2.9% between the 1is January 2025 and 2026).
Since 1is January 2012, the number of doctors increased by 12,2 %stimulated by a growing number of doctors qualified abroad and by the entry into work of generations having benefited from the very sharp increase in the number of training places between 2000 and 2020. Half of doctors are today women. Doctors mainly have a self-employed activity, but more and more often combined with a salaried activity.
Le nombre de gériatres a pratiquement triplé depuis 2012 passant de 1 200 à 3 400 début 2026. La croissance des effectifs de pédiatres a également été très dynamique : ils sont 9 800 début 2026, soit + 28,5 % en quatorze ans.
Les médecins de spécialités de plateau médico-technique (biologistes, radiologues, anatomo-cyto-pathologistes, radiothérapeutes, médecins nucléaires : 16 600 en 2026), les psychiatres (16 200), les chirurgiens (14 600) et les anesthésistes-réanimateurs (14 000) restent les spécialistes les plus nombreux.
The number of physiotherapists, pharmacists, dentists, midwives and chiropodists continues to increase
Au 1is January 2026, 111,400 physiotherapists are active in France, a number which grows by 3.1% per year on average since 2017. Like other medical professions, the profession is experiencing a double dynamic of rejuvenation and feminization.
After increasing from 2012 to 2016, then decreasing until the beginning of 2023, the number of pharmacists has been progressing for three years to reach, at 1is January 2026 its highest level: 75,300 active professionals. More than two thirds of active pharmacists are women and two thirds are employees.
Au 1is January 2026, 48,700 dental surgeons, 26,400 midwives and 14,600 chiropodists are active. The profession of dental surgeon continues to become younger and more feminine: at 1is January 2026, their average age is 43.9 years and 51% of dental surgeons are women. The number of midwives continues to grow significantly, and the profession remains predominantly female (97%). The profession of chiropodists remains a young and feminized profession, mainly practiced in private practice.
Table – Demographics of doctors, pharmacists, dental surgeons, midwives, chiropodists and physiotherapists in 1is January 2026
nd = not available
* adjusted data: Despite the compulsory nature of registration, a certain number of salaried physiotherapists are not registered and listed in the RPPS. An adjustment of the number of employees is carried out using data from the annual statistics of health establishments (SAE) of the Drees.
Champ > health professionals in activity on January 1 carrying out at least one activity in France
Source > RPPS, Drees treatments
508,800 nurses will work in paid employment in 2023
The insufficient quality, to date, of the data relating to nurses in the RPPS does not allow them to be used to develop statistics on their numbers. Drees has carried out specific work to study the demography of nurses from the all-employee base (BTS, the most recent year used for this work is 2023) and the national health data system (SNDS). In France, excluding Mayotte, 508,800 nurses were employed as of December 31, 2023 (+1.6% in one year) and 98,900 nurses exercised a self-employed activity during the year 2023. Also read the document produced by the National Order of Nurses “Analysis and comments on the 2024 cartographic production of the National Order of Nurses” which provides more recent and more precise data in terms of nursing demography.
• Demographics of health professionals in 1is January 2026. Datasets, July 2, 2026, Drees
• Consult the data in detail – The demographics of healthcare professionals since 2012, Drees, data update from July 2, 2026.
• Atlas of medical demography in France as of 1is January 2026, Council of the Order of Physicians (CNOM).
