How many doctors leave UK practice
More doctors are giving up their licence to practise in the UK than ever before. According to the General Medical Council (GMC), 16,124 doctors stopped holding a licence in 2024, up from 11,309 in 2023 and 9,667 in 2019. Leavers who had been working in the UK health service included 5,793 UK graduates and 4,880 doctors who qualified abroad, the latter up 26 percent in a single year. At the same time, a record 22 percent of doctors told the GMC in 2025 that they were likely to leave UK practice within a year, and moving abroad became the most commonly planned change. This report sets out who is leaving, why and where they go. For the overall size of the profession, see our overview of doctors in the United Kingdom.
Leaving the register does not always mean leaving medicine. Some doctors retire, some move abroad to practise, some take a career break and some give up their licence while keeping their registration. The GMC asks doctors why they relinquish their licence, which allows the reasons to be tracked over time. Because the number of doctors joining is also at a record level, the workforce is still growing overall. The concern is about who leaves: increasingly younger UK graduates early in their careers and experienced international doctors on whom the NHS depends.
Leavers since 2019
The number of doctors no longer holding a licence fell to 6,894 in 2020, when many doctors stayed in post during the pandemic and some were granted temporary registration. It then rose to 9,825 in 2021, 11,319 in 2022 and 11,309 in 2023, before jumping to 16,124 in 2024. The GMC notes that part of the 2024 increase among internationally qualified doctors who had never worked in the UK health service reflects an administrative backlog being cleared, so the underlying rise is smaller than the headline suggests.
A sharp rise in 2024: 16,124 doctors gave up their licence, two-thirds more than in 2019.
The more meaningful comparison is between doctors who had actually been working in the UK. Among doctors previously connected to a UK employer, 5,793 UK graduates and 4,880 international graduates left in 2024. The UK figure was the highest of the period, up from 4,615 in 2019, while the international figure rose sharply from 3,869 in 2023. Among international doctors who had never worked in the UK, leavers rose from 798 in 2019 to 5,193 in 2024, the group most affected by the administrative backlog.
Both groups rising: UK graduate leavers reached 5,793 in 2024 and international leavers 4,880.
Leaver rates: who is most likely to go
Because the workforce has grown, rates tell a clearer story than raw numbers. Among doctors connected to a UK employer, 3.6 percent left in 2024, compared with 3.2 percent in 2023 and 3.5 percent in 2019. The leaver rate for international graduates is consistently higher than for UK graduates: 4.3 percent against 3.2 percent in 2024. International doctors have always been more mobile, as many return home or move on to other countries after gaining UK experience, but the GMC has warned that the NHS can no longer assume they will stay.
International doctors more mobile: 4.3 percent of internationally qualified doctors left in 2024, against 3.2 percent of UK graduates.
The age of UK leavers is falling. According to the GMC, the number of UK graduates under 40 who left rose from 2,245 in 2023 to 2,627 in 2024, an increase of 17 percent, and leavers aged 20 to 29 rose from 1,350 to 1,604. The median age of UK-qualified leavers fell from 51 to 46. In other words, more doctors are leaving early in their careers rather than at retirement. Our report on specialty training in the UK shows the competition for training posts that many of these young doctors face.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| UK graduate leavers under 40 | 2,245 | 2,627 |
| UK graduate leavers aged 20 to 29 | 1,350 | 1,604 |
| Median age of UK-qualified leavers | 51 | 46 |
| International leavers previously working in the UK | 3,869 | 4,880 |
| Leaver rate, all connected doctors | 3.2% | 3.6% |
Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Business Stats
Why doctors leave
Moving abroad to practise is the most common reason doctors give for relinquishing their licence. Among doctors who left in 2023 and gave a reason, 28 percent said they were going to practise abroad, up from 25 percent in 2022, and a further 9 percent said they were going to live abroad. Retirement accounted for 21 percent, down from 24 percent. Twelve percent gave no reason. So more than a third of leavers in 2023 were heading overseas.
Abroad beats retirement: 37 percent of 2023 leavers were going to practise or live abroad, against 21 percent retiring.
A GMC study of more than 1,100 doctors who left between 2018 and 2022 explored the deeper reasons. The most common was a better quality of life abroad, cited by 62 percent. Half said they felt undervalued in the UK, 49 percent wanted higher pay, 38 percent wanted more time outside work and 35 percent cited a lack of career development. A third were returning to their home country. Pay and conditions are covered in detail in our report on UK doctor pay, and workplace pressures in our report on burnout among UK doctors.
Quality of life first: Six in ten leavers said life abroad was better, half felt undervalued in the UK.
Where departing doctors go
Australia is by far the most popular destination. Among doctors who left in 2023 and named a destination, 23 percent were going to Australia, up from 21 percent in 2022, 8 percent to New Zealand and 6 percent to Ireland. British nationals made up 69 percent of those heading to Australia and 83 percent of those going to New Zealand. Many are young: 64 percent of the 797 British doctors heading for Australia had completed their second foundation year within the previous three years.
Australia leads: Almost a quarter of departing doctors who named a country were heading to Australia.
Australia is actively recruiting UK doctors. Its Expedited Specialist pathway, opened in October 2024, allows specialists from comparable systems to register faster. By the end of July 2025, 229 doctors had been registered through the pathway, and the Medical Board of Australia reported that 87 percent of applicants had qualified in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, registrations through the route for UK and Irish graduates grew by 26.9 percent in 2023/24, although the Medical Council of New Zealand reports that only about 60 percent of UK doctors are still there after one year and 37 percent after two.
How many more may leave
Survey data suggest the outflow could grow. In the GMC Barometer survey, the share of doctors who said they were likely to leave UK practice in the next 12 months rose from 11 percent in 2021 to 18 percent in 2022, 20 percent in 2023, 19 percent in 2024 and 22 percent in 2025. The share planning to move abroad rose from 10 percent in 2022 to 15 percent in 2025, when it became the most commonly planned career change for the first time. Of those likely to move abroad, 35 percent did not intend to return and 38 percent did not know.
Rising intentions: 22 percent of doctors were likely to leave UK practice in 2025, double the 2021 level.
Intentions do not always turn into action. The GMC followed up doctors who said in 2023 that they were likely to leave: 7.7 percent had given up their licence within 12 months and 11.6 percent within 18 months. Even so, with more than 300,000 licensed doctors, a small conversion rate means thousands of departures each year.
Joiners and leavers: is the workforce shrinking?
Despite the rise in leavers, the UK medical workforce is still growing because joiners outnumber leavers by a wide margin. In 2024, 30,444 doctors joined the UK medical workforce, compared with 16,124 who stopped holding a licence. The number of licensed doctors rose to 328,149. The challenge is dependence: in 2024, two-thirds of doctors taking up a licence for the first time had qualified abroad, so a rise in international departures would hit the NHS hard. Our report on international doctors in the UK looks at this dependence in detail.
Still a net gain: In 2024, 30,444 doctors joined and 16,124 gave up their licence.
Outlook
Several developments will shape the outflow in the coming years. The 2026 pay deal for resident doctors and the new law prioritising UK graduates for training posts may persuade more young UK doctors to stay, but the same prioritisation could encourage international graduates to look elsewhere. Australia and New Zealand continue to recruit actively. The GMC Workforce report for 2026, expected in late 2026, will show whether the 2024 spike was a one-off. The wider picture of the workforce, including GPs and the demographics of UK doctors, is covered in our related reports, and regulatory data in our report on GMC fitness to practise.
Doctors leaving the UK in numbers
- 16,124 doctors stopped holding a UK licence in 2024, up from 9,667 in 2019.
- 4,880 internationally qualified doctors who had worked in the UK left in 2024, up 26 percent.
- UK graduate leavers under 40 rose 17 percent to 2,627; their median age fell from 51 to 46.
- 28 percent of 2023 leavers went to practise abroad and 21 percent retired.
- 23 percent of leavers naming a destination chose Australia.
- 22 percent of doctors said in 2025 they were likely to leave UK practice within a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
16,124 doctors stopped holding a licence to practise in the UK in 2024, up from 11,309 in 2023. Not all of them leave the country; some retire or take a break.
Yes. In 2023, 28 percent of doctors who gave up their licence said they were going to practise abroad, up from 25 percent in 2022, and 9 percent were going to live abroad.
Australia is the most popular destination: 23 percent of 2023 leavers who named a country were going there, followed by New Zealand (8 percent) and Ireland (6 percent).
In a GMC study, 62 percent of doctors who left cited a better quality of life abroad, 51 percent felt undervalued and 49 percent wanted higher pay.
Yes. 4,880 internationally qualified doctors who had worked in the UK left in 2024, up 26 percent on 2023. Their leaver rate was 4.3 percent.
In the GMC Barometer survey 2025, 22 percent of doctors said they were likely to leave UK practice in the next 12 months, excluding retirement, and 15 percent planned to move abroad.
No. Joiners still outnumber leavers. In 2024, 30,444 doctors joined the UK medical workforce and the number of licensed doctors reached 328,149.
Yes. The number of UK graduates under 40 who left rose 17 percent to 2,627 in 2024, and the median age of UK-qualified leavers fell from 51 to 46.
General Medical Council - Workforce report 2025.
General Medical Council - Workforce report 2025 data annexe.
General Medical Council - Workforce report 2024.
General Medical Council - International doctors quitting, November 2025.
General Medical Council - Identifying groups of migrating doctors.
General Medical Council - SoMEP Barometer survey 2025.
Medical Board of Australia - Workforce initiatives produce results, August 2025.
Medical Council of New Zealand - Workforce Survey Report 2025.