Press Release: Registered Health Professional Statistics . Year 2025.

Main results

The number of registered doctors increased by 3.9% in 2025 compared to the previous year, and the number of registered nurses increased by 1.2%.
The ratio of registered doctors stood at 6.51 per 1,000 inhabitants and the ratio of nurses was 7.22 per 1,000.
The professions that grew the most were occupational therapists (9.2%) and psychologists with a health specialty (8.6%).
In 2025, 69.5% of registered healthcare professionals were women. The professions with the highest percentage of women were speech therapists (92.7%), occupational therapists (90.0%) and nurses (84.3%).

More information

The number of registered healthcare professionals in Spain increased by 2.9% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 1,038,354. By sex, 316,392 were men (up 2.4%) and 721,962 were women (up 3.2%).

Registered health care professionals. 2021-2025 series

Values and rates of change (%)

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¹ In 2024 there is a break in the series of registered podiatrists because the General Council of Official Colleges of Podiatrists of Spain carried out a cleansing of the database, adjusting it to the methodology of the EPSC.
²The data on Dieticians-Nutritionists for 2021, 2022 and 2023 for the entire national territory was not available at the time of publication.

The majority were nurses (34.5% of the total), followed by doctors (31.1%) and pharmacists (7.9%).

The number of registered doctors in Spain increased by 12,229 (3.9%) reaching a total of 322,787 in 2025.

The number of registered nurses increased by 4,401 (1.2%) to 358,036. Within this group, 10,301 people were registered as midwives (1.8% less than in 2024).

In the rest of the professions included in the statistics, the greatest increases were in occupational therapists(9.2%), psychologists with a health speciality (8.6%) and health physicists (7.7%).

Nurses had the largest ratio per 1,000 inhabitants in 2025 (7.22). Next came doctors (6.51) and pharmacists (1.66).

In the case of nurses who specialise in midwifery, the ratio was 0.96 per 1,000 women of childbearing age.

Health care professionals by age and sex

The healthcare profession has a predominantly female presence; 69.5% of registered professionals are women. In 2025, there were more women than men in 14 of the 16 professions analysed.

The groups with the highest percentage of women were speech therapists (92.7% were women), occupational therapists (90.0%) and nurses (84.3%).

In contrast, health physicists (32.6%), dental technicians (34.3%) and doctors (55.1%) had the lowest female indices.

Registered women by type of healthcare profession. Year 2025

Percentage (%)

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By age group, the highest percentages of health professionals under 45 years of age were found in occupational therapists (83.8%), dietitians and nutritionists (82.6%) and physiotherapists (72.2%). In contrast, this age group had less weight among pharmacists (38.8%), dental technicians (39.0%) and doctors (40.4%).

Meanwhile, the largest percentages of registered practitioners over the age of 65 were for doctors (28.0%) and pharmacists (19.1%).

In the last 10 years, the percentage of members under 45 years of age decreased in all groups, except for doctors, where it increased by 4.0 points. The most significant declines in professionals were recorded among opticians-optometrists (19.3 points less), physiotherapists (15.9) and dietitians-nutritionists and occupational therapists (8.9).

Conversely, the proportion of members aged 65 and over increased in all groups, except for podiatrists. The largest increases were for doctors (12.8 points higher), dentists (7.4) and pharmacists (6.6).

Registered healthcare professionals by age. Comparison between 2016 and 2025

Percentage (%)

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    "92.7%",
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    "8.4%",
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    "10.6%",
    "1.3%",
    "72.2%",
    "26.0%",
    "1.8%",
    "72.0%",
    "27.3%",
    "0.7%",
    "69.9%",
    "26.6%",
    "3.5%",
    "75.5%",
    "20.0%",
    "4.5%",
    "66.9%",
    "29.1%",
    "4.1%",
    "58.8%",
    "39.4%",
    "1.8%",
    "55.1%",
    "39.0%",
    "5.9%",
    "61.1%",
    "33.8%",
    "5.1%",
    "54.5%",
    "33.0%",
    "12.6%",
    "54.6%",
    "37.7%",
    "7.7%",
    "52.1%",
    "36.5%",
    "11.4%",
    "67.1%",
    "29.5%",
    "3.4%",
    "47.8%",
    "46.6%",
    "5.7%",
    "50.7%",
    "42.7%",
    "6.6%",
    "44.6%",
    "45.5%",
    "9.8%",
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    "41.9%",
    "48.8%",
    "9.3%",
    "36.3%",
    "48.4%",
    "15.2%",
    "40.4%",
    "31.6%",
    "28.0%",
    "47.4%",
    "48.4%",
    "4.2%",
    "39.0%",
    "54.3%",
    "6.7%",
    "47.6%",
    "39.9%",
    "12.6%",
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Data by Autonomous Communities and Cities

The number of registered doctors increased in all autonomous communities and cities in 2025.

The greatest increases were registered in Canarias (7.4%), Castilla y León (4.6%), and Comunidad de Madrid (4.5%). The lowest were in Castilla-La Mancha and the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla (2.4%, 2.4% and 2.5%, respectively).

The highest rates of doctors were in Principado de Asturias (7.69 per 1,000 inhabitants), Comunidad de Madrid (7.62) and Aragón (7.50). And the lowest were in the autonomous cities of Melilla (3.82) and Ceuta (4.60) and in Castilla-La Mancha (4.98).

The highest ratios of registered nurses per 1,000 inhabitants were recorded in Cantabria (9.44), Comunidad Foral de Navarra (8.97) and País Vasco (8.91). The lowest were in Región de Murcia (5.24), Galicia (5.38) and Illes Balears (6.25).

Registered doctors. Year 2025

Rates per 1,000 inhabitants

Registered nurses. Year 2025

Rates per 1,000 inhabitants

Revisions and data updates

The data published today are final. All results are available on INEbase

Methodological note

The Registered Health Professionals Statistics are annual structural statistics that investigate the number and characteristics of health professionals registered in their respective Professional Colleges or Councils. They have compiled at the National Statistics Institute without interruption since 1952. This research provides information to various international organisations such as the OECD and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).

The information currently provided refers to the professions included in Law 44/2003 of 21 November on the Regulation of Health Professions, or which meet the requirements established therein. The groups, which are: doctors, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, psychologists with a specialism in health, physicists with a specialism in health, nurses, physiotherapists, podiatrists, opticians-optometrists, dental prosthetists, chemists with a speciality in health, occupational therapists, speech therapists and biologists with a specialism in health.

The questionnaires are completed through a web application (IRIA) by the General Councils and/or Professional Associations.

Type of operation:: annual continuous survey.
Population scope:: professionals in the healthcare field that are registered in any Spanish Professional Association.
Geographical scope:: the entire national territory.
Reference period:: the data refer to 31 December.
Collection method:: online questionnaire (web application).

More information on the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information in Quality at INE and Code of Best Practices.