The number of male physicians outnumber female physicians in the U.S. in most specialties. The only major exceptions are found in pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, although female physicians do slightly outnumber males in a few other specialties. As of 2021, there were around 68,400 male family medicine/general practice physicians compared to 50,000 women in this specialty.
Physicians in the U.S.
Both the number of doctors and rate of doctors in the U.S. have increased over the years. As of 2021, there were around 946,800 active doctors of medicine in the U.S. This was around 29.9 physicians per 10,000 civilian population. In 1995, this rate stood at 24.2 physicians per 10,000 population.
The AMA Physician Dataset defines gender as "male" OR "female." Although limited to these categories within our analyses, we acknowledge sex and gender as fluid, non-binary variables.
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AAMC. (January 12, 2023). Number of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, by specialty and gender [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 30, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/439728/active-physicians-by-specialty-and-gender-in-the-us/
AAMC. "Number of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, by specialty and gender." Chart. January 12, 2023. Statista. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/439728/active-physicians-by-specialty-and-gender-in-the-us/
AAMC. (2023). Number of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, by specialty and gender. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 30, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/439728/active-physicians-by-specialty-and-gender-in-the-us/
AAMC. "Number of Active Physicians in The U.S. in 2021, by Specialty and Gender." Statista, Statista Inc., 12 Jan 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/439728/active-physicians-by-specialty-and-gender-in-the-us/
AAMC, Number of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, by specialty and gender Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/439728/active-physicians-by-specialty-and-gender-in-the-us/ (last visited October 30, 2024)
Number of active physicians in the U.S. in 2021, by specialty and gender [Graph], AAMC, January 12, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/439728/active-physicians-by-specialty-and-gender-in-the-us/