Statistics versus practice: where and which doctors are missing in Russia
The provision of Russian doctors has approached the target set for 2030, 43.46 doctors per 10,000 population. In November 2025, there were already 43.45 doctors per 10,000 people. However, this does not cover the shortage of doctors, experts say. About why the indicator does not reflect the real availability of doctors, which doctors are missing and where, how to solve the problem of staff shortage — in the material of Izvestia.
How Russia is provided with doctors
In 11 months of 2025, the availability of doctors in medical organizations increased from 41 to 43.45 doctors per 10,000 population, according to data from the Ministry of Health published in the EMISS. We are talking about both public and private medical organizations that participate in the implementation of the program of state guarantees of free medical care.
At the same time, the authorities planned to reach the figure of 43.46 doctors per 10,000 Russians by 2030. This goal is spelled out in Presidential Decree No. 896 dated December 8, 2025 "On the Strategy for the Development of Healthcare in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030."
As Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova noted in October, thanks to the activities of the federal project "Medical Personnel" from January to September 2025, the provision of doctors to the population increased by 12.7 thousand people, and by 9.2 thousand people with mid-level medical specialists.
— The increase in the availability of doctors was most likely influenced by several measures, including the activity of regional authorities to attract personnel and social benefits for rural doctors provided for by government Decree No. 343 of March 20, 2024. Such payments amount to 50 thousand rubles for doctors, and up to 30 thousand rubles for nurses," Doctor of Medicine, MBA in Healthcare Management, Rector of the Higher School of Healthcare Organization and Management (HSE), comments to Izvestia Guzel Ulumbekova.
Natalia Gavrilova, Chief Physician of the Scandinavian Health Center, attributes the increase in the number of medical personnel to the Zemsky Doktor program and its urban counterparts, the development of targeted training, and the redistribution of workload within the healthcare system.
According to her, graduates of 2020-2024 who studied under target quotas came to work in medical organizations en masse, and the transfer of some functions to secondary medical staff allowed doctors to serve more patients.
How many doctors are missing
Despite the rapid growth in the availability of doctors and the approach to the planned target, there remains a shortage of staff in Russia. The country's healthcare system lacks about 23.3 thousand doctors and 63.6 thousand nursing staff, Mikhail Murashko, the head of the Ministry of Health, said at the end of February 2025. The Ministry did not respond to Izvestia's request for up-to-date information at the time of publication.
According to a VTsIOM study published on December 2, 52% of Russians expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of medical care, with respondents citing a shortage of staff and competencies of health workers as the main reason.
In 2024, there were about 558,000 doctors in Russia, and the provision was 38.2 people per 10,000 population. Such data are provided in the collection of the Ministry of Health and the Central Research Institute of Organization and Informatization of Healthcare of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (TSNIIOZ) "Resources and activities of medical healthcare organizations. Part I. Medical personnel".
Gavrilova believes that statistics on the availability of doctors should also take into account the quality of data and the distribution of specialists in Russia.
— Does the statistics include all working doctors or only staff units? The distribution is also important — in Moscow, the figure can reach 70-80, and in some regions — for example, Tuva, Transbaikalia — not more than 30, — says Gavrilova.
The problem is not in the total figure, but in structural imbalances, says the chief physician of the SCZ. These include, for example, the concentration of doctors in large cities and the shortage of specialized specialists.
According to Ulumbekova, if there is an officially recognized shortage of doctors and public dissatisfaction with the availability of free medical care, it means that there really are not enough specialists.
— There are more than 40 doctors per 10,000 people in Germany, and about 50 in Norway and Austria. In our country as a whole, the availability of doctors should be higher than in European countries. Since we have long distances and a lower population density, therefore, even in places with a small population, there must be a doctor," the expert notes.
Which doctors are missing and where is the bigger shortage
In Russia as a whole, there is a shortage of internists and pediatricians in public clinics, as well as neurologists, ophthalmologists, endocrinologists, oncologists, psychiatrists, narcologists, emergency physicians and intensive care specialists, says Gavrilova.
According to the collection of the Ministry of Health and the Central Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, in 2024 there were 62.6 thousand therapists in Russia (availability — 5.39 doctors per 10,000 population), 50.5 thousand pediatricians (16.86 doctors), 19.7 thousand neurologists (1.35 doctors), 12.65 thousand ophthalmologists (0.87 doctors), 6.8 thousand adults (0.59 doctors) and 1.3 thousand pediatric endocrinologists (0.44 doctors), 11.3 thousand oncologists (0.77 doctors), 11.76 thousand psychiatrists (0.8 doctors).
There is a shortage of highly qualified surgeons in private clinics, as well as doctors of rare specialties and specialists with a scientific reputation. According to Gavrilova, there is a particularly acute shortage of surgeons, obstetricians and gynecologists, radiologists and functional diagnostics doctors in the state medical institutions of the regions.
— The shortage of doctors is most pronounced in those regions where the average wage in the economy is lower. For example, in the Vladimir, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kurgan, and Pskov regions, the availability of doctors is about 30 per 10,000 people, which is a quarter lower than the average in Russia and even lower than in more affluent regions, such as St. Petersburg, where it exceeds 50 per 10,000 people. — says Ulumbekova.
Why are there not enough doctors in Russia?
There are several reasons for the shortage of personnel. According to the head of the business development department, "UIS.Medicine", member of the National Association of Healthcare Managers (NAUZ) Maxim Verenikina, the key factors remain high workload, uncompetitive income levels compared to alternative opportunities in the labor market, as well as outdated material and technical base.
— We see a significant departure of doctors to private clinics, where they are attracted by better working conditions, the opportunity to work with modern equipment and a more flexible organizational environment. At the same time, in parallel and, critically, at the entrance to the system, there is a decrease in the number of those who remain in the profession.: up to 40% of graduates of medical universities do not come to work in their specialty, which means a huge loss of investment in education,— says Verenikin.
The average monthly salary of doctors working in state clinics in January – June 2024 was 121 thousand rubles, according to Rosstat data. In Moscow, specialists received 212.6 thousand rubles, in the Moscow region — 139 thousand rubles, in St. Petersburg — 153.7 thousand rubles, in the Leningrad Region — 112.5 thousand rubles. The lowest salary for doctors in Ingushetia is 57.6 thousand rubles.
Among the reasons why there are not enough doctors in the country, there are also limited opportunities for professional development without moving to a large city, Gavrilova notes. According to Verenikin, today the problem is not just the flow of personnel between sectors, but a multi-level failure.: The system loses potential at the graduation stage, is faced with the rotation of experienced personnel to the private sector, and an irretrievable outflow of specialists, which together creates a growing burden on the remaining doctors and negatively affects the entire situation.
A phased increase in government funding for healthcare will help solve the problem of staff shortages, Ulumbekova believes. She believes that this will allow attracting additional staff and equalizing their salaries by region.
— The situation can be changed by modernizing the healthcare system. We are talking not only about targeted salary increases, but also about changing the environment: the introduction of modern, lean management practices, large—scale digitalization to free doctors from routine, the creation of adaptation programs and the fight against toxic management styles, as well as the development of a continuing education system linked to career growth," concludes Verenikin.
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