Supply of Doctors in Singapore and Percentage of Local versus Foreign Doctors

MR Seah Kian Peng
MP for Marine Parade GRC

Question No. 2867

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there is an oversupply of doctors in Singapore; and (b) what percentage of doctors in Singapore are currently non-Singaporeans and whether there is a specific target that the Ministry is working towards.

Written Answer

1        To meet our healthcare needs, the Ministry of Health (MOH) regularly reviews our medical manpower supply and demand, taking into account population demographics and disease trends. In 2018, there were around 14,000 registered doctors in Singapore. This translates to a ratio of 2.4 doctors per 1,000 population, which is comparable to developed countries such as Japan, USA and UK.

2        With the increase in capacity of our local medical schools in the past few years, as well as more Singaporean doctors returning from overseas education, the proportion of local doctors in our healthcare system increased from 82% in 2012 to 90% in 2018. We expect the proportion of local doctors to increase further with a steady inflow from local and overseas medical schools.

3        As we transform our healthcare model, our manpower needs will change and we will need to regularly review and adjust our manpower plans.