Hong Kong to face manpower crunch for doctors and dentists in 2030, health authorities say

Hong Kong is expected to have a shortage of 1,570 doctors and 180 dentists in 2030, with the manpower gap projected to ease gradually and reach a surplus of 20 dentists by 2040, health authorities have said.

The Health Bureau revealed in documents submitted to the Legislative Council on Friday that the manpower shortage of doctors would remain in the short to long term, but the gap was expected to narrow from 2032 due to the boost in supply of local graduates as well as non-locally trained doctors.

The manpower gap of doctors was estimated to stand at 1,570 in 2030, 1,400 in 2035 and 1,200 in 2040.

“The supply of doctors will continue to be limited in the short to long term compared with projections in the previous report in 2021,” the bureau said citing the “general demographic factors of population growth and ageing, coupled with the increasing medical burden of chronic diseases”.

The bureau suggested continuing to boost the supply of local as well as qualified non-locally trained doctors. The measures included further increasing the local quota for medical studies, recruiting and retaining doctors from the public sector, and facilitating new special and limited registration channels.

Health authorities also projected a shortage of 180 dentists in 2030, while the figure was expected to narrow to 120 in 2035.

In 2040, there will be a surplus of 20 dentists in the city, according to the bureau.