KATHMANDU, June 23: The number of medical doctors obtaining a 'Good Standing Certificate' from the Nepal Medical Council has surpassed the number of those acquiring the council licence so far this year, as in 2025. This indicates a significant trend of doctors seeking career opportunities abroad.
It is believed that such a medical workforce prefers going overseas in search of 'better' and 'more lucrative career prospects' there.
Annually, around 2,000 doctors obtain licences from the Council, while an equal number of doctors acquire 'Good Standing Certificates'. It is said that the Good Standing Certificate is generally required to explore career or academic opportunities outside the country.
In 2025, a total of 2,390 doctors obtained this certificate, while, in contrast, the Council issued 2,122 licences in the same year. This year, the number of Good Standing Certificates issued was 268 more than the number of licences.
According to the Council's Good Standing Certificate Verification Chief, Pradeep Rijal, since 2020, a total of 13,140 doctors have received licences, while the number of Good Standing Certificates stands at 11,068.
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The Council's Acting Registrar, Dr Dipendra Pandey, said that over the past 10 years, the number of doctors going abroad has increased, and lucrative pay, perks and facilities are among the pull factors behind this trend.
According to him, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, India, Canada and Germany are among the preferred destinations for doctors.
In Nepal, opportunities at the medical officer level are limited. They prefer to pursue master's degrees abroad and explore jobs in hospitals there.
According to Council data, since 2020, a total of 2,995 doctors have gone to the USA, followed by 2,637 to the United Kingdom, 2,241 to the Maldives, 848 to Australia, 720 to the UAE, 148 to Canada and 92 to Germany. Similarly, 918 went to neighbouring India as well. According to the Council, overall, Nepali doctors have migrated to 23 countries in pursuit of better career opportunities.
In 2020, the number of Good Standing Certificates stood at 869, followed by 1,327 in 2021, 1,954 in 2022, 2,318 in 2023 and 2,210 in 2024, showing a steadily increasing trend.
A Good Standing Certificate is required for both employment and higher studies abroad, said Acting Registrar Pandey. However, in Nepal's case, most doctors obtain the certificate primarily for employment rather than for further studies.
The number of NMC licences issued was 2,131 in 2020, 1,716 in 2021, 2,085 in 2022, 2,692 in 2023 and 2,394 in 2024.
Limited facilities and career opportunities in Nepal are considered major push factors encouraging doctors to seek opportunities abroad.
It is said that limited facilities in Nepal are a push factor for doctors. So far, the NMC has issued 39,486 licences.
The number of Good Standing Certificates issued has shown a steadily increasing trend: 869 in 2020, 1,327 in 2021, 1,954 in 2022, 2,318 in 2023, and 2,210 in 2024.
So far, the Nepal Medical Council has issued a total of 39,486 medical licences.
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