Hanover. At the end of 2024, more than half a million people were employed in Lower Saxony's healthcare sector. According to figures released Tuesday by the State Office for Statistics Lower Saxony (LSN), a total of 576,400 individuals worked in the field—an increase of roughly 8,300 employees, or 1.5 percent, compared to the previous year.

Lower Saxony's healthcare workforce grows to over 500,000 in 2024

The majority of staff were employed in outpatient facilities such as medical practices (43.0 percent) and inpatient settings like hospitals (38.5 percent).

When adjusted for full-time equivalents, the workforce totaled approximately 401,500, nearly one-third lower than the overall headcount—a reflection of the sector's high prevalence of part-time work. Statistically, 100 employees corresponded to about 70 full-time positions.

Administrative institutions and health protection services recorded the highest full-time equivalent rates, with 83 per 100 employees in each category.

Women made up 76.9 percent of Lower Saxony's healthcare workforce, a figure that has remained largely unchanged over the past 15 years. The share of female employees was highest in outpatient care, at 81.8 percent.

By contrast, emergency medical services had a significantly below-average proportion of women, with just 34.0 percent of staff being female.