Physicians, medical group of specialties (PP), per 100 000

Albania

Source of data:
Reference period:

Austria

Source of data: Osterreichische Arztekammer - Vollerhebung / Austrian Medical Chamber - total of
members.
Reference period: December/January (reference day varies).
Coverage:
- No data available for: Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Oncology.
- Excludes interns (\Turnusarzte\").
Break in time series:
- Occupational medicine is included in ?Other specialists n.e.c.? until 2004; since 2005

Belarus

Source of data: National Statistics Committee of Belarus http://belstat.gov.by/; National Archives
of the Republic of Belarus http://narb.by/
Coverage: Data provided on medical practitioners. Interns are included in the category \Medical
doctors not further classified?.
Reporting period: 31 December.
Break in time series: 2010.
There was no formal separation of the profiles of medical specialties until 2009

Belgium

Source of data: Institut National d'Assurance Maladie Invalidite. ?Rapport Annuel?.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- Head count data.
- Excludes non-practising physicians, retired professionals and professionals working abroad.
Includes professionals of foreign origin.
- Number of physicians with at least 1 patient contact.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Source: Public Health Institute of FB&H - Annual report health personnel with university degree by
specialization and sex in FB&H
Public Health Institute of Republica Srpska - Annual report health personnel with university degree
by specialization and sex in Republica Srpska

Bulgaria

Source of data: National Statistical Institute, Exhaustive annual survey
Reference period: 31st December
Coverage: All medical specialists (head counts) who worked on a basic labour contract in outpatient
and inpatient establishments, as well as those who practice in other heath establishments - centres
for emergency medical care, centres for transfusion haematology, homes for medical and social care
for children, Hygiene-epidemiological inspections and others. Residents are included (data refer to
the speciality that has been practised).
Estimation method: Data on medical specialists refer to the speciality that is practiced.
Break in time series: For the 2007 reference year the survey methodology was changed in order to
improve the data comparability (because of a new Ordinance on an acquisition of specialty in the
health care system issued in the end of 2006 by the Ministry of Health and the Eurostat?s
questionnaire on non-expenditure health care data methodology requirements the list of medical
specialties included in the exhaustive survey carried out by the BNSI is changed).
Inclusion:
2002 ? 2003 data: Internal medicine, Communicable diseases, Nutrition and dietetics, Hygiene of
children and youth, Cardiology, Endocrinology and metabolic diseases, Gastroenterology, Pneumology,
Rheumatology, Allergology, Neurology, Oto-rhino-laringology, radiation treatment, Microbiology,
Parasitology, Haematology, Transfusion haematology, Dermato-venerology, Pathological anatomy,
Forensic medicine, Imaging diagnostic, Occupational medicine, Clinical laboratory, Epidemiology of
the communicable diseases, Occupational diseases.
All data are revised according to the requirements and all physicians with occupational medicine
specialty are included.

2004 ? 2006 data: Internal medicine, Communicable diseases, Nutrition and dietetics, Geriatric
medicine, Hygiene of children and youth, Cardiology, Endocrinology and metabolic diseases,
Gastroenterology, Pneumology, Rheumatology, Clinical allergology, Clinical immunology, Neurology,
Oto-rhino-laringology, radiation treatment, Microbiology, Virology, Medical parasitology, Clinical
toxicology, Toxicology, Clinical haematology, Transfusion haematology, Dermato-venerology, General
and clinical pathology, Pathophysiology, Forensic medicine, Imaging diagnostic, Occupational
medicine, Clinical laboratory, Epidemiology of the communicable diseases, Occupational diseases.
All data are revised according to the requirements and all physicians with occupational medicine
specialty are included.

2007 ? 2011 data: Internal medicine, Communicable diseases, Nutrition and dietetics, Geriatric
medicine, Cardiology, Endocrinology and metabolic diseases, Gastroenterology, Pneumology, Medical
oncology, Rheumatology, Clinical allergology, Clinical immunology, Neurology, Oto-rhino-laringology,
radiation treatment, nuclear medicine, Microbiology, Virology, Medical parasitology, Clinical
toxicology, Toxicology, Clinical haematology, Transfusion haematology, Dermato-venerology, General
and clinical pathology, Pathophysiology, Forensic medicine, Imaging diagnostic, Occupational
medicine, Clinical laboratory, Epidemiology of the communicable diseases, .
All data are revised according to the requirements and all physicians with occupational medicine
specialty are included.

Croatia

Source of data:ÿCroatian National Institute of Public Health, Health Manpower Register
Deviation from the definition: Included are urology, orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology,
ophthalmology, internal medicine, pneumophthisiology, radiology, radiotherapy and oncology, nuclear
medicine, transfusion medicine, medical microbiology with parasitology, infectology, physical
medicine and rehabilitation, dermatovenerology, neurology, clinical cytology, clinical pharmacology
with toxicology, anatomy pathology up to 2008.
Break in time series: 2009.
From 2009. included are: internal medicine, pneumophthisiology, infectology, neurology,
dermatovenerology, , otorhinolaryngology, transfusional medicine, radiology, radiotherapy and
oncology, nuclear medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, medical microbiolog.with
parasitology, anatom. pathology, clinical citology, forensic medicine and occupational medicine.

Cyprus

Source of data: Statistical Service of Cyprus, Health and Hospital Statistics.
For the years 1985, 1987, 1995 and 2000 figures were obtained from the Census of Doctors, Dentists
and Clinics.
Reference period: 31st December.

Czechia

Czech Republic

Source of data: Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic; Registry of
Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: Diabetology and endocrinology (since 2010 endocrinology is not a separate branch),
Geriatrics, Infectious medicine, Internal medicine, Rehabilitation and physical medicine, Sexology,
Sports medicine, Hyperbaric medicine and oxygenotherapy, Palliative medicine and pain management,
Cardiology, Paediatric cardiology, Angiology, Gastroenterology, Paediatric gastroenterology and
hepatology, Paediatric pneumology, Pneumology, Clinical oncology, Paediatric oncology and
haemato-oncology, Allergology and medical immunology, Rheumatology, Paediatric rheumatology,
Neurology, Paediatric neurology, Audiology and phoniatry, Otorhinolaryngology, Paediatric
otorhinolaryngology, Interventional radiology, Neuroradiology, Nuclear medicine, Radiation oncology,
Radiology and imaging methods, Paediatric radiology, Medical microbiology, Haematology and
transfusion, Corrective dermatology, Dermatovenerology, Paediatric dermatovenerology, Forensic
medicine, Pathological anatomy, Occupational medicine.
Break in series: A new legislation on medical professions came into effect in 2004.

Denmark

Source of data: National Board of Health, Labour Register for Health Personnel.
Reference period: 31st December. Data show the number for January first the following year.
Coverage:
- The data contain specialists working in hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities or in
providers of ambulatory health care.
- Data refer to \practising\" specialists.
- If the physician has more than one specialty

Estonia

Source of data:
- Annual reports, National Institute for Health Development, Department of Health Statistics.
Reference period: 31st of December.
Coverage:
- The category ?Medical group of specialties? presents practising physicians.
- Medical staff working in research or other areas is not included. The military area has been
included since 2010.
- Resident physicians are not included the category ?Medical group of specialties?. Data are not
available by specialties.
Break in time series: 2005.
- Until 2004, the number of practising physicians was based on their last or main educational
qualification.
- From 2005, the head count distribution is made according to their main occupational activity.

Finland

1) Until 2009
Source of data: Finnish Medical Association. Register of the Finnish Medical Association which is
updated by a yearly survey covering all physicians licensed to practice in Finland who are not
retired.
Reference period: Mid-March.
Deviation from the definition: Data refer to 'professionally active' physicians. The specialty is
according to the last specialty acquired.
Coverage: Includes physicians specialised in cardiology, clinical haematology, clinical
microbiology, clinical neurophysiology, clinical physiology and nuclear medicine, dermatology and
allergology, endocrinology, forensic medicine, gastroenterology, geriatrics, infectious diseases,
internal medicine, neurology, occupational health, oncology, otolaryngology, pathology, phoniatrics,
physical and rehabilitation medicine, radiology, respiratory medicine and allergology and
rheumatology not working in primary care.
2) 2010
Source of data: Finnish Medical Association. Data from a survey: \Physicians? Working Conditions and
Health? 2010 survey.
Reference period: End of year.
Coverage: Survey for 7

France

Source of data: Ministere du Travail, de l?Emploi et de la Sante - Direction de la Recherche, des
Etudes, de l'Evaluation et des Statistiques (DREES), Sous-Direction de l'Observation de la Sante et
de l'Assurance maladie, Bureau des Professions de sante.
- Until 2010 (01/01/2011): Repertoire ADELI (DREES).
- From 2011 (01/01/2012): RPPS (Repertoire partage des professionnels de sante), ASIP-SANTE RPPS.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- Data refer to active physicians.
- Data refer to metropolitan France and D.O.M. (overseas departments).
- Interns and residents are not included.
Deviation from the definition:
- The data refer to active physicians.
- Interns and residents are not included.
Break in time series:
- In 2009 (01/01/2010), there is a break in the series for physicians because of a change in the
statistical methodology.
- In 2011 (01/01/2012), there is a second break in the series, because of the change in the data
source (RPPS since 2011). Also, as of 2011, ?Geriatrics? has been integrated into ?Internal
medicine? and the medical group of specialists. In the former source (Repertoire ADELI), Geriatrics
was not considered as a full specialty.
Note: The new source (RPPS) makes it possible to give the number of practising medical specialists:
46239 in 2011 (compared with 52788 active medical specialists in 2011).

Georgia

Source of data: Data are based on annual statistical reports collected from health establishments to
the Ministry of Health and include both, public and private sectors and also facilities working
under other Ministries, such as Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of
Defence.
Reference period: 31 December 2012
Coverage: The provided data cover all regions except separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Osetia.
Data for those two regions are unavailable.
Note: 42% increase in 2012 is due to an essential change of the data collection tool related to the
health human resources.

Germany

Germany

Source of data: German Medical Association, Medical practitioner statistics; special calculation by
the Federal Statistical Office on base of data from the German Medical Association,
http://www.gbe-bund.de or http://www.baek.de.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- Data contain the number of specialists who are actively practising medicine in public and private
institutions and provide services directly to patients (head-count data).
- This group includes medical specialties (e.g. internal medicine, cardiology, neurology, radiology,
pathology, oncology, occupational medicine, etc) and excludes specialties ?surgery?, ?gynaecology
and obstetrics?, ?paediatrics?, ?psychiatry? and ?general practitioners?.
- Includes interns/residents.

Greece

Source of data: Hygiene Divisions and Sections attached to prefectures, Athens Medical Association
and Pireas Medical Association. Annual Doctors and Dentists survey,
http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/PAGE-themes?p_param=A2103.
Reference period: 31st December.
Deviation from the definition: Data refer to professionally active physicians. Unemployed physicians
are included.

Hungary

Source of data: Office of Health Care Authorisation and Administrative Procedures.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- Head count data. Excludes non-practising physicians, retired professionals and professionals
working abroad. Includes professionals who are foreigners.
- The Office of Health Authorisation and Administrative Procedures (EEKH) provided data according to
the dominant specialisation practiced during medical work.
- Residents are excluded.

Iceland

Source of data:
- 2003 and onwards: The Directorate of Health, The Register of Physicians.
- Until 2002: The Directorate of Health. Data from inpatient care institutions, health centres and
The State Social Security Institute.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- Head count data.
- Includes those physicians who are 70 years old or younger with permanent residence and registered
domicile in Iceland (Icelanders or foreigners).
- Excludes retired professionals and professionals working abroad.
- May include a very small number of non-practising physicians.
- Physicians in training are not included (unless they already have another specialisation) as data
are based on The Register of physicians, and only those who have gained the respected specialty are
registered.
- In cases where a physician has more than one specialty, the counted specialisation is the newest
specialty. Should two specialities be registered on the same day, the one that is more specialised
is included.

Ireland

Source of data: Medical Council of Ireland.
Reference period: Data refers to 31st December.
Coverage:
- Data comes from the registration statistics of the Medical Council of Ireland and includes
physicians registered by the Medical Council of Ireland who have entered and maintained their name
as fully registered doctors in the Register of Medical Practitioners Specialist Division and Trainee
Specialist Division (from 2011), regardless of whether or not they are practising medicine.
Specialists can be registered for more than one specialty. Physicians with more than one specialty
are counted within each specialty separately, as it is not possible to extract them individually.
Therefore, a small number of physicians may be counted twice in the data. As a result, the sum of
specialist groups does not equal the total specialist medical practitioners.
- Registration is a pre-requisite for practice in Ireland. It is not possible to exclude physicians
working in administration, research or other posts that exclude direct contact with patients. These
physicians can still be registered as a medical practitioner and are therefore included.
Deviation from the definition: Data refer to physicians licensed to practice.
Break in time series: 2011. From 2011, the data includes the number of training posts which were
completed during the year. This will NOT represent the number of doctors who undertook training in
the Trainee Specialist Division but the number of posts where training was completed during the
year.ÿAs such some doctors will have been in a number of different posts throughout the calendar
year.

Israel

Israel

Source of data: The data are based on the Physician License Registry maintained by the Medical
Professions Division and the Health Information Division in the Ministry of Health, for which the
demographic information is periodically updated from the Population Registry at the Ministry of
Interior. The source of residents' data is the Israeli Medical Association.
Reference period: End of the year.
Coverage:
- Data are for the number of professionally active physicians.
- Data include last specialty and residents at the end of the year.
Deviation from the definition: Data refer to professionally active physicians.
Note: The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant
Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the
Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of
international law.

Italy

Source of data: ISTAT provides data produced by CEGEDIM ITALIA - One Key database.
http://crm.cegedim.com/solutions/data/data-overview/Pages/onekey-database.aspx.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: Data refer to practising physicians by categories. Physicians in training are excluded.

Latvia

Source of data: Health Inspectorate of Latvia; Medical Persons' Register.
Reference period: 31 December
Coverage: Interns and residents are included.

Lithuania

Source of data: Health Information Centre of Institute of Hygiene, data of entire annual survey of
health establishments. Report ?Health Statistics of Lithuania?, available from
http://sic.hi.lt/html/en/hsl.htm.
Predominant area of practice is used as criterion to classify physicians by categories.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: Up to 2010 residents are excluded. Since 2011 residents are included in respective
category of physicians.
Break in time series:
- 2011: Since year 2011, interns and residents are included in the respective category of physicians
by specialities. In year 2010 and earlier, interns and residents were included in the category
Medical doctors not further defined.

Luxembourg

Source of data: Direction de la Sante - Service des statistiques. Register of doctors and health
professionals. Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: Practising physicians.
Deviation from the definition: Nephrology is included. As the specialists in ?nephrology? do not
perform any surgical acts, they cannot be considered surgeons. For that reason they are included in
the category of physicians specialised in internal medicine.

Malta

Source of data: Specialist Registers and data from the Post Graduate Training Centre, Mater Dei
Hospital.
Reference period: 31st December.
Note: Accurate figures are only available from end 2008. The predominant area of practice was used
to classify physicians by categories.

Montenegro

Source of data: The source for all data submitted is the Institute of Public Health. Some additional
information can be found in Health Statistical Yearbooks available at http://www.ijzcg.me/
Reference period: December 31st.
Coverage: Only data from the public sector.
The criteria used for the data was the last specialty for which doctors have received registration.
Note: the breakdown was provided for professionally active physicians
T
Note: Also included the specialists of nuclear medicine, transfuziology, clinical chemistry,
physical ,medicine and rehabilitation, etc. . are also included.

Netherlands

Source of data:
- Up to and including 1998: The BIG register (register installed by the Individual Health Care
Professions Act), annual report (primary source: KNMG, Medisch Specialisten Registratie Commissie -
Royal Dutch Society for the Advancement of Medicine, Medical Specialists Registration Commission).
- From 1999 onwards: Data for professionally active and licensed physicians based on BIG register
(register of (para)medical professions) and SSB database (micro-integrated database of Statistics
Netherlands with data from municipal register, tax register, social security, business register).
Doctors in training: KNMG (Royal Dutch Society for the Advancement of Medicine).
Deviation from the definition: Data refer to professionally active physicians since 1999; data up to
1998 refer to physicians licensed to practice.
Break in time series: 1999.

North Macedonia

Source of data: Institute for Public Health -Skopje. Report for health staff in health sector (3-00-60).
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: The category "internal medicine" comprises specialists in internal medicine and subspecialists in the following specialties: pulmonology, cardiology, gastroenterology, haematology, nephrology, rheumatology, endocrinology and toxicology. Interns and residents are included.
Up until 2005, the data sets for private sector are incomplete, because private sector physicians were not sending reports regularly to the relevant organisations and the data for physicians by categories does not sum up to the total number of professionally active physicians. Since 2006, more strict controls for regular reporting were put into practice by the Ministry of Health, which resulted in very accurate report sending and vastly improved evidence of health personnel. Since year 2006, private sector physicians are included and the sum of physicians by categories equals the total number of physicians.
Deviation from the definition: Physicians (medical specialists) are 'professionally active'.
Break in the series: 2006. Differences in the data reported for each year for doctors, specialists example haematologists, rheumatologists and toxicologists is because they move from public institutions to private.

Norway

Source of data:
- From 2002: Statistics Norway; Register-based statistics on employment of health-care personnel.
See http://www.ssb.no/hesospers_en/.
Reference period: 3rd week of November.
Coverage:
- Data on medical specialists are based on each physician's latest specialty. Each individual may
have as many as three specialties, but only one of them is counted here.
- The figures include only the specialists within HP1-HP3. Specialists working outside these fields
are not included.
Break in time series: 2011: The number of specialists is based on practising physicians according to
occupational data.

Poland

Source of data: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior and Administration, Ministry of National
Defence.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: Physicians with grade II specialisation or with title of specialist in internal diseases,
alergology, angiology, audiology and phoniatrics, balneology and physical medicine, cardiology,
clinical immunology, clinical oncology, clinical toxicology, dermatology and venereology,
diabetology, endocrinology, forensic medicine, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology oncology,
haematology, hypertensiology, infectious diseases, lung diseases, medical microbiology, medical
rehabilitation, neonatology, nephrology, neurology, neuropathology, nuclear medicine, oncological
radiotherapy, oto-rhino-laringology, palliative medicine, pathology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric
neurology, paediatric oncology and haematology, paediatric oto-rhino-laringology, occupational
medicine, radiology and diagnostic imaging, rheumatology, sexology, sports medicine, transfusion
medicine and transport medicine or undergoing training in these specialties.
Break in time series: 2010. Prior to 2010, nephrology was classified under ?Surgical group of
specialities? and neonatology under ?General paediatricians?.
Note: Grade I and grade II specialisations were granted when the previous system was in force.
Doctors, according to Polish law, could achieve this by September 1998. Obtaining a grade II
specialisation is equivalent to the current title of specialist, but the grade I specialisation is
not equivalent to the title of specialist and has no counterpart in the current system of
specialised training.

Portugal

Source of data: Statistics Portugal and the Portuguese Medical Association.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- These data refer to physicians licensed to practice. All physicians (practising, active but not
practising or inactive) are included.
- The specialties counted for the medical group are: Histopathology/Pathological Anatomy,
Cardiology, Paediatric cardiology, Dermatovenerology, Infectious diseases, Endocrinology and
nutrition, Gastro-enterology, Immunoallergology, Immunohemotherapy, Clinical pharmacology and
therapeutics, Haematology, Internal medicine, Legal medicine/Forensics, Nuclear medicine, Tropical
medicine, Neurology, Neuroradiology, Medical oncology, Otorhinolaryngology, Clinical pathology,
Pneumology/Respiratory medicine, Radiodiagnostic/Clinical radiology, Radiotherapy/Clinical oncology,
Rheumatology and Occupational medicine.
Deviation from the definition:
- Data refer to physicians licensed to practice.
- Some physicians are licensed to practice in more than one specialty. These physicians are
accounted in all specialties they have. Therefore the sum of physicians by categories is higher than
the actual total number of physicians.
Break in time series: 2005.
- Data include occupational medicine since 2005. Before 2005, occupational medicine is included in
?Other specialists not elsewhere classified?.

Republic of Moldova

Source of data: Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova, National Centre for Health
Management, Annual statistical report N17 ?On staff and cadres of health institutions?.
http://cnms.md/areas/statistics/anyar/.
Reference period: Data as of December 31.
Coverage: Data exclude Transnistria.
Deviation from the definition: Foreign physicians are not included. Interns and residents are not
included.
-.

Romania

Source of data:
Ministry of Health for the period 1994-2004, provided the medical specialist in its network.
National Institute of Statistics since 2005, Activity of Sanitary Units ? annual survey performed by
NIS.
Reference period: data as of 31st December.
Coverage: From 1994-2004, the data cover medical specialists only from Ministry of Health network.
Data from 2005 till now refer to all professionally active physicians from public and private
sector. The medical group of specialities include: internal medicine, neonatology, diabetology,
nutrition and metabolic diseases, rehabilitation, physical medicine and balneology, cardiology,
endocrinology, gastroenterology, pneumology (including respiratory medicine), oncology,
rheumatology, neurology, otho-rhino-laringology (from 2006), radiology, infectious diseases,
haematology (from 2009), dermatology and pathology (from 2006).
Data on microbiology-bacteriology are not available. In accordance with national laws, the
microbiology-bacteriology is \over specialization\" of laboratory medicine.
Explanation:
Because in 2007and 2008 the total number of residents was included in Generalist medical physicians
category

Serbia

Source of data: Institute of Public Health of Serbia, National register on health care human
resources. http://www.batut.org.rs/
Reference period: 31st December
Coverage: Data for Kosovo-Metohija province are not included in the coverage of data for the
Republic of Serbia. Data from health institutions under the other ministries (military services,
prisons, social services) than the Ministry of Health are not included. Data from private health
sector are not included.
Note: Data refer to professionally active physicians.

Slovakia

Source of data: National Health Information Center. Data were provided by the Register of Health
Professionals.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- In the category of ?medical group of specialties?, practising physicians are include whose main
area of practice is in internal medicine, infectology, pneumology and ftiseology, neurology,
otorhinolaryngology, dermatovenerology, clinical oncology, radiology, clinical biochemistry,
physical training medicine, physiotherapy, balneology and rehabilitation, pathologic anatomy,
haematilogy nad transfusiology, geriatrics, endocrinology, aviation medicine, paediatric neurology,
p

Slovenia

Source of data: The National Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia, National Health Care Providers Database.
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage: The National Health Care Providers Database is a registry with total (100 %) coverage of health workers.

Spain

Source of data:
- Up to 2009: Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equity from Statistics on Health Establishments Providing Inpatient Care (ESCRI). http://www.msssi.gob.es/estadEstudios/estadisticas/estHospiInternado/inforAnual/homeESCRI.htm.
- Since 2010: Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equity from Specialised Care Information System (Sistema de Informacion de Atencion Especializada - SIAE).
Reference period: 31st December.
Coverage:
- All public and private hospitals in Spain are included. Specialised out-patient clinics depending on a general hospital (National Health System) also are included.
- Doctors in training (interns and residents) are included in “Medical group of specialists” since 2010 (until 2009, all doctors in training are included in the category “Other specialists n.e.c.”).
- Radiologists are not included (they are included in the category “Other specialists n.e.c.” with labs, pathologists and doctors in training) until 2009.
- Oto-rhino-laringologists are included in the “Surgical group of specialists” until 2009. Deviation from the definition: Data refer only to specialists working in hospitals. Hence the sum of physicians by categories does not correspond to the total number of physicians. Break in time series: 2010.

Sweden

Source of data: National Board of Health and Welfare. National Planning Support (NPS) register.
Reference period: 1st November.
Coverage:
- Specialists include all physicians employed within the health-care sector possessing a specialist competence (excluding competence in family medicine).
- 100 per cent coverage.

Switzerland

Source of data: FSO Federal Statistical Office, Neuchatel, Swiss Medical Association (FMH), Bern, medical statistics of physicians, yearly census.
Deviation from the definition: Interns and residents are not included.
Break in time series: 2011: former specialists in internal medicine are not registered under medical specialists but in one single category under Generalist medical practitioners, according to the Swiss medical association
Coverage: Since 2008 the data refer to practising physicians.
Note: No data on physicians in training by categories are available.

Türkiye

Source of data: General Directorate for Health Services, Ministry of Health and ESPC Higher Education Statistics.
Coverage:
- The number of medical group of specialties includes medical specialists and medical residents of these branches in all health care facilities.
- Physical treatment and rehabilitation specialists and residents are included in the internal medicine category.
- All sectors (Ministry of Health, university, private and other) are included. MOD-affiliated facilities are not included.
Deviation from the definition: Data refer to professionally active physicians.

Turkmenistan

Source of data: Report from of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan. ? 17 “Health employment”
Reference period: 31 December.
Coverage: Includes data from institutions under the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, data from other Ministries or sectors not included.

Ukraine

Source: Centre of Health Statistics, Ministry of Health. Data are based on annual statistical reports from health establishments.
Coverage: Since 2009, data includes public and private sector.

United Kingdom

Source of data:
- England: Health & Social Care Information Centre: http://www.hscic.gov.uk.
- Scotland: Information Services Division, Scottish Workforce Information Standard System.
- Wales: Welsh Assembly Government: http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/health/?lang=en.
- Northern Ireland: Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research.
Reference period: Data as at 30th September.
Coverage:
- Does not include private sector.
- Northern Ireland: Data exclude bank staff, research fellows, clinical assistants and hospital/medical practitioners. Data from 2000 exclude staff on career breaks. The UK equivalent of interns and residents, i.e. foundation doctors and registrars, will be included in this data.
Deviation from the definition:
- Scotland: The sum of GPs and specialists is greater than the total number of physicians due to some staff holding more than one post. There is currently no conventional way of assigning such staff to one group only.
- Scotland: Data exclude Ophthalmic Medical Practitioners.
Estimation method:
- Northern Ireland: Department code has been used as an approximation of specialty.
- Wales: 2006 - With the exception of GP data, these data have been estimated by applying the proportional breakdown from 2005 and 2007 to the 2006 total.
- Wales: 2012 - Welsh data were not available in time for this collection, so the previous year’s figure was used instead. This will be updated with the correct data in next year’s collection.