FOI reference: FOI-2025-2770
You asked
I am requesting data on the number of individuals working as Neurosurgeons in the UK.
Please provide:
- The number of individuals currently employed in Neurosurgery roles (including consultants and trainees)
- Any available breakdown by UK region or country
We said
Thank you for your request.
We produce estimates of the number of people working in different occupations from the Annual Population Survey, based on interviews with people resident in households in the UK.
Occupation information is classified based on the Standard Occupational Classification for the UK 2020 (SOC2020).
Under SOC2020 Neurosurgeons are classified to occupation code 2212 – Specialist Medical Practitioners. This occupation group would include not only Neurosurgeons, but also other specialist medical practitioners, such as Surgeons, Radiologists, Paediatricians, Anaesthetists and Psychiatrists.
We publish estimates of the numbers working in different occupation codes in our report on Employment by Occupation (SOC2020) by sex on our Nomis website. The report can be filtered to produce estimates for the individual regions and countries of the UK.
According to the Annual Population Survey for the period January to December 2024, there were 140,500 specialist medical practitioners in the UK.
More detailed information on surgical specialisms may be available from the General Medical Council or the Royal College of Surgeons, both of whom produce some statistics on the medical workforce. A recent report by Science Direct made its own estimates regarding the number of Neurosurgeons in the UK.