A recent evaluation by the CHE Centre for Higher Education shows that federal states with more medical study places guarantee better medical care in the long term. Regions with medical faculties often have a higher density of doctors per inhabitant, while countries without such courses risk structural care problems. However, the distribution of study places is highly unbalanced, which exacerbates the shortage of skilled workers in medicine.

Medical studies are one of the most sought-after courses of study in Germany. In the winter semester 2024/25, around 10,000 first-year students received a place at university, while about 20,000 applicants were rejected. The differences between the federal states are particularly stark: Saarland and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania offer the highest capacities with 29 and 26 university places per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. North Rhine-Westphalia is significantly behind with only 13 places per 100,000 inhabitants. In Brandenburg and Bremen, there are currently no state-funded medical study places, although Brandenburg will create the first state capacities with the Medical University of Lusatia from the winter semester 2026/27. Private universities in Brandenburg already offer medical studies.

The high cost of medical schools is a major reason for the unequal distribution. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the annual operating costs per medical student amount to about 25,000 euros. Nevertheless, the investment is worth it: The so-called adhesive effect ensures that many doctors stay close to their place of study after their studies. Regions such as Heidelberg, Freiburg, Lübeck or metropolises such as Hamburg, Berlin and Munich benefit from a higher density of doctors due to resident faculties.

Despite a slight increase in the number of university places from 9,000 to 10,000 in recent years, the number of graduates is not sufficient to remedy the shortage of skilled workers. Currently, more than 5,000 family doctor seats are vacant, and a quarter of family doctors plan to give up their practice in the next five years. Experts are therefore calling for an intensification of the debate on the expansion of university places and a fairer distribution of responsibility between the federal states. Countries without sufficient study capacities become dependent on others and risk structural undersupply.

In addition, at least 9,100 German medical students are studying abroad, who could alleviate the shortage of doctors if they return. However, this group is often overlooked in the current debate. The CHE evaluation is based on data from the Federal Statistical Office, the CHE Ranking, Hochschulstart.de and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and was published on hochschuldaten.de on 20 August 2025.

Original publication:
Hachmeister, Cort-Denis: DatenCHECK 8/2025: Medical study places in the German federal states – published on 20 August 2025 on https://www.hochschuldaten.de

Original Data:

Medical study places in the German federal states – CHE Higher Education Data

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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