A new study by researchers at Tel Aviv University points to an increase in the number of doctors who left Israel for an extended period between 2023 and 2025.
According to the study, approximately 1,370 doctors left Israel for at least one year during this period - a 94% increase compared with 2013-2015, when 705 doctors left.
The data show that 416 doctors left in 2023, 530 in 2024 and approximately 419 in 2025. The researchers stressed that the figure for 2025 is a preliminary estimate and has not yet been finalized.
The study was conducted by Prof. Itai Ater of the Coller School of Management and head of the Economists for Democracy Forum; Prof. Nittai Bergman, head of the Berglas School of Economics; and Doron Zamir, a doctoral student at the Coller School of Management - all from Tel Aviv University. The research was conducted as part of the Central Bureau of Statistics’ “Making Data Accessible to Researchers" initiative, cross-referencing data from the Population Registry, Education Registry and professional licensing records.
One of the study’s findings concerns the experience of the doctors who left. Between 2023 and 2025, 281 doctors aged 45 and older left Israel for at least one year, accounting for approximately 20% of all doctors who left. During the previous decade, veteran doctors accounted for 14% of those leaving.
A breakdown by specialty found that over the three-year period, 215 internal medicine physicians left, representing 3.9% of all internal medicine physicians in Israel, along with 188 surgeons, representing 6% of all surgeons. In addition, 116 ophthalmologists, dermatologists and ENT specialists left, representing 6.2% of doctors in those fields, as did 94 pediatricians, also representing 6.2% of all doctors in that specialty.
Another 98 doctors in supporting specialties, including anesthesiology, radiology and pathology, left, representing 3.9% of doctors in those fields; 81 family and community medicine physicians, representing 2%; 72 gynecologists, representing 4%; 51 psychiatrists, representing 3.2%; and 39 intensive care and emergency medicine physicians, representing 4.7%.
Among doctors under the age of 60, the highest departure rate was recorded among ophthalmologists, dermatologists and ENT specialists, at 9.4% of doctors in that age group. Among surgeons under 60, the departure rate was 8.8%, while among pediatricians under 60 it stood at 6.4%.
Geographically, the Tel Aviv District topped the list, with 429 doctors leaving between 2023 and 2025, representing 5.4% of doctors in the district and 7.4% of doctors under the age of 60. It was followed by the Central District with 290 departures, Haifa with 190, Jerusalem with 132 and the Southern District with 125.
The study found that even after accounting for Israeli doctors who returned to Israel, the country lost a net total of 509 doctors in 2023 and 2024 - an average of approximately 255 doctors per year. According to the researchers, this is nearly five times the annual average during the 2010-2019 decade, when the net loss stood at 54 doctors per year.
The researchers noted that the fact that a doctor spent a year outside Israel does not necessarily indicate permanent emigration.
Many doctors spend extended periods abroad for specialization, advanced training or research, and some are expected to return to Israel. Nevertheless, the researchers said that the surge in the number of doctors spending extended periods abroad, together with the growing proportion of veteran and experienced physicians among them, reinforces concerns that the trend will continue.
Prof. Itai Ater said: “Since 2023, the State of Israel has been losing its best people. All of us have family members waiting for surgery or other medical treatment. The departure of nearly 1,400 doctors translates directly into longer waiting times, less effective medical treatment and, ultimately, serious harm to our quality of life. If, God forbid, this trend continues, there is growing concern that it will cause irreversible damage to Israel’s resilience."