One in three doctors and one in four nurses in the European Union are over 55 years old.

Omissions

• The 'one in three doctors / one in four nurses' figure originates from the OECD/European Commission report 'Health at a Glance: Europe 2024', whose underlying data is largely from 2022 — more than two years before the September 2026 session date.
• More recent Eurostat data (reference year 2024) shows the share of physicians aged 55+ was above 38.0% in 10 EU countries, and one 2026 analysis cites lower figures for nurses (about 18% of nurses over 55), suggesting the nurse share may vary by source and reference period.
• The claim presents an EU-wide average that masks large variation across Member States (e.g. Lithuania had the highest share of practising nurses aged 55+, at almost half in 2023).

Sources

• PrimaryOECD / European Commission — Health at a Glance: Europe 2024Over one-third of doctors and a quarter of nurses in the EU are aged over 55 and expected to retire in the coming years.
• PrimaryEurostat — Healthcare personnel statistics: physiciansThe healthcare workforce has been rapidly ageing across much of the EU. In 2024, the share of physicians aged 55 years and over was above 38.0% in 10 EU countries.
• SecondaryEuronews — 1 in 3 doctors in Europe are older than 55According to the 'Health at a Glance: Europe 2024' report, co-published by the OECD and the European Commission, which said over one-third (35%) of doctors were over 55.
• SecondaryEU Perspectives — Europe is short of a million health workersThree in ten European doctors and 18 per cent of nurses are over 55. In 12 of the 27 member states, four in ten doctors are already past that age.