The Emigration of Algerian Doctors: A Normal Phenomenon or a Real Exodus?

The purpose of this article is to understand the phenomenon of medical migration in Algeria over at least three decades. Using different data sources, we have calculated emigration rates overall and in certain specialities. We have also looked at doctors’ salaries in the public sector to assess whether they are well or poorly paid in comparison with executives in the economic sector, doctors in the private sector, and those practising in certain foreign countries. According to our estimates, the emigration of Algerian doctors cannot be considered as a real exodus if we focus on those who qualified in Algeria and practise in France. The migration ratio of this population was 8.63% in 2016. On the other hand, if we consider the place of birth, it rises to 23.35%, a rate close to those recorded by some countries in sub-Saharan Africa which are experiencing a worrying exodus. A shortage of doctors threatens certain specialities particularly affected by emigration, such as radiology (24.69%), nephrology (24.85%), and especially psychiatry (40.27%). Whatever their rank, doctors in the public sector are relatively better paid than executives in the economic sector, but much less than doctors practising in the private sector and those practising in certain foreign countries. Financial reasons alone cannot explain the decision to emigrate taken by many Algerian doctors. It is therefore necessary to seek other reasons for emigration.