1 in 5 medical doctors in the U.S. are Asian

Have you ever searched for a doctor based on specialty, gender, or race? For many women and Americans of color, after considering quality, we often prioritize finding doctors who share our gender or racial background. However, if you’re looking for an Asian female orthopedic surgeon, your search might be futile. Only 6% of orthopedic surgeons are women, and just 8% are Asian, regardless of gender. While the U.S. has 949,658 active physicians in 2021 according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the racial composition of our nation’s physician workforce shows disparities; and gender representation varies significantly by specialty.

Have you ever searched for a doctor based on specialty, gender, or race? For many women and Americans of color, after considering quality, we often prioritize finding doctors who share our gender or racial background. However, if you’re looking for an Asian female orthopedic surgeon, your search might be futile. Only 6% of orthopedic surgeons are women, and just 8% are Asian, regardless of gender.

Around 1 million medical doctors

MyAsianVoice analyzed the U.S. physician workforce by gender, race/ethnicity, and specialty using the latest available data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). According to the AAMC, there were 949,658 active physicians in 2021. The FSMB reported 1,044,734 licensed physicians in its 2022 census. The AAMC defines active physicians as those working at least 20 hours per week, while the FSMB includes all physicians with full unrestricted licenses.

25% of doctors are international medical graduates

About 75% of physicians are U.S. or Canadian medical graduates, while 25% are international medical graduates (IMGs). Among IMGs, the most common countries of origin are India (21%), the Caribbean (20%), Pakistan (6%), the Philippines (5%), and Mexico (4%).

1 in 4 doctor specialize in internal medicine or family medicine/general practice

Over 25% of all medical doctors specialize in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine/General Practice. Pediatrics is the third most popular specialty, followed by Emergency Medicine, and Obstetrics & Gynecology to round out the top 5 specialties.

37% of doctors are female

Of all active physicians, 37% are women (351,117), while 63% are men (595,693). Gender representation varies significantly by specialty. Male physicians dominate Orthopedic Surgery (94%) and Neurosurgery (90%). Female physicians are overrepresented in Pediatrics (65%) and Obstetrics & Gynecology (61%).

21% of doctors identify as Asian

The racial composition of the physician workforce shows disparities. At 64%, the majority of physicians identify as White. Asians physicians are the second largest racial group at 21%. Hispanic physicians make up nearly 7%; and less than 6% of physicians identify as Black. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) physicians are severely underrepresented at just 0.1%. American Indian or Alaska Native physicians represent only 0.3%. The percentage of physicians who identify as Multiracial and Other were 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively.

A third of Asian physicians practice within 3 specialties

While Asian physicians make up 21% of active medical doctors, they are underrepresented in specialties like Orthopedic Surgery (8%) and Sports Medicine (11%). They are overrepresented in Nephrology (41%) and Interventional Cardiology (41%). A third of Asian physicians practice within 3 specialties: Internal Medicine, Family Medicine/General Practice, and Pediatrics.

Percentage of Asian doctors vary widely across U.S. states

The percentage of Asian physicians vary widely across U.S. states. For example, you have a better chance of finding an Asian doctor in Hawaii than in Montana where less than 4% of the state’s active physicians are Asian.

• Highest Representation: Hawaii (44%), California (31%), Illinois (24%), Nevada (24%), New Jersey (23%).
• Lowest Representation: Montana (3.5%), Idaho (4.7%), Wyoming (5.6%), Vermont (6.7%), Alaska (6.9%).

Few Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander doctors

A mere 961 or 0.1% of active physicians identify as NHPI in 2021. NHPI medical doctors primarily specialize in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine/General Practice, and Pediatrics but remain critically underrepresented nationwide.

Helpful Resources

Active physicians who identified as Asian, 2021 (Association of American Medical Colleges)

Physician Specialty Data Report (Association of American Medical Colleges)

FSMB Census of Licensed Physicians in the United States, 2022 (Federation of State Medical Boards)