The health and social sectors employ a large and growing number of people in OECD countries. The data reported in this section come from general labour force surveys and include not only people working in the health sector but also those working in the social sector (including long-term care, child care and other types of social work). The data include professionals providing direct services to people together with administrative and other support staff.

This section provides information on the number of doctors per capita in OECD countries, including a disaggregation by general practitioners and specialists. In 2009, there were just over three doctors per 1 000 population across OECD countries. Greece had by far the highest number of doctors per capita (6.1 per 1 000 population), followed by Austria. Chile, Turkey, Korea and Mexico had the lowest number of doctors per capita with between one and two doctors per 1 000 population. The number of doctors per capita is lower in some of the major emerging economies, with less than one doctor per 1 000 population in Indonesia, India and South Africa.

Maintaining or increasing the number of doctors requires either investment in training new doctors or recruiting trained physicians from abroad. As it takes about ten years to train a doctor, any current shortages can be met only by recruiting qualified doctors from abroad, unless there are unemployed doctors at home. Conversely, any surpluses or sudden fall in demand may mean that new graduates, in particular, struggle to find vacant posts at home.

The remuneration level of doctors is, to a certain extent, related to the overall level of economic development of a country, but there are nevertheless significant variations in their remuneration compared with the average wage in each country. The structure of remuneration for different categories of doctors also has an impact on the financial attractiveness of different medical specialties. In many countries, governments influence the level and structure of physician remuneration directly as a key employer of physicians or as a purchaser of services, or indirectly through regulation.

Gynaecologists are concerned with the functions and diseases specific to women, especially those affecting the reproductive system, while obstetricians specialise in pregnancy and childbirth. A doctor will often specialise in both these areas, and the data reported in this section does not distinguish between the two. Midwives provide care and advice to women during pregnancy, labour and childbirth and the post-natal period. They deliver babies working independently or in collaboration with doctors and nurses.

At any point in time, about 10% of the adult population will report having some type of mental or behavioural disorder (WHO, 2001). People with mental health problems may receive help from a variety of professionals, including general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, specialist nurses and others. This section focuses on one category of mental health service provider, psychiatrists, as the availability of comparable data on others, such as psychologists, is more limited. Psychiatrists are responsible for diagnosing and treating a variety of serious mental health problems, including depression, learning disabilities, alcoholism and drug addiction, eating disorders, and personality disorders such as schizophrenia.

Nurses are usually the most numerous health profession, greatly outnumbering physicians in most OECD countries. Nurses play a critical role in providing health care not only in traditional settings such as hospitals and long-term care institutions but increasingly in primary care (especially in offering care to the chronically ill) and in home care settings.

Many OECD countries have taken steps in recent years to expand the number of students in nursing education programmes in response to concerns about current or anticipated shortages of nurses. Increasing investment in nursing education is particularly important as the nursing workforce is ageing in many countries and the baby boom generation of nurses approaches retirement.

The remuneration level of nurses is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction and the attractiveness of the profession. It also has a direct impact on costs, as wages represent one of the main spending items in health systems.