The table illustrates the number of doctors in Australia, while the two bar charts demonstrate the percentage of doctors categorized by gender and nationality in Australia from 1986 to 2006. Overall, the number of doctors increased steadily over a 20-year period which means there were more Australian doctors than other nationalities every year. The trend of males and females was balanced in 2006.
The number of doctors began at 300,000 in 1986, then the numbers almost doubled from the beginning in 1996. In 2006, the doctors went to 800,000.
The percentage of Australian doctors almost remained stable and higher than other nationalities at approximately 60%, in contrast, the proportion of other nationalities’ doctors fluctuated, the percentage at the beginning was the same as at the end at 40%.
In 1986, the medical workforce in Australia was male-dominant which means at the beginning, the proportion of men was about 55%, which was higher than women (40%). However, the figures later reversed, with women increasing to around 55% while men dropped to 40%. In 2006, the proportions of men and women were similar, at around 50% and 45%, respectively.