Greece becomes major exporter of doctors while relying on foreign Labor
Greece is simultaneously losing large numbers of medical professionals and depending heavily on migrant workers to fill key jobs in tourism, construction and agriculture, according to the OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2025.
The report shows Greece now has the highest ratio of doctors to population among OECD countries—with 6.6 physicians per 1,000 residents—but many of those trained in the country are moving abroad in search of better pay and working conditions. Greece is grouped with Poland, Hungary and Slovakia as one of the bloc’s biggest exporters of doctors and nurses.
Greek-trained medical staff are staffing hospitals in Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, even as those countries also export health workers. The United States, Australia and Switzerland remain the largest net recipients of international medical professionals. France and Austria occupy a middle position, losing doctors to Switzerland but gaining from Italy, which the report describes as a major recruiter of Greek health workers.
The study also notes that Greece, alongside Israel, has a high rate of doctors returning after earning their degrees abroad—evidence, it says, of the growing internationalization of medical and nursing education. Despite its high number of licensed physicians, not all are actively practicing, and Greece continues to rank among the lowest in nurse density across the OECD.
While exporting health workers, Greece is increasingly importing foreign labor to fill lower-paid jobs. Nearly one in five migrant workers in Greece is employed in hospitality and food service (18.8%), followed closely by construction (17.3%), wholesale and retail trade (15%) and agriculture and fisheries (9%).
Migration flows also continue to shift. In 2023, 35% of Greek emigrants headed to Germany, though overall emigration to OECD countries declined by 4%. At the same time, Greece recorded steep drops in employment among highly educated migrants and remains among the four OECD countries with the highest migrant unemployment rate—15.4%. It also leads the bloc in long-term migrant unemployment, at 60%.
To address labor shortages, Greece has approved 89,290 positions for third-country nationals in 2025. The plan includes 41,670 salaried jobs, 45,620 seasonal placements and 2,000 high-skill posts. A new digital platform, launched in summer 2024, facilitates a bilateral agreement with Egypt for seasonal agricultural workers, and similar partnerships are being developed with India.
