The success of international medical graduates (IMGs) in securing first-year graduate medical education (GME) positions in the United States remains strong, with growth in the number of physicians matching to residency programs, according to the 2025 Main Residency Match® (The Match®) results released by the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®).
This is good news for U.S. health care and U.S. patients, since IMGs are critical to our ability to provide accessible and high-quality health care. Despite growth in U.S. medical schools, there are not enough U.S. graduates to fill all medical residency positions, and physician shortages persist nationwide. Without IMGs, thousands of medical residency positions would go unfilled each year. IMGs play a crucial role in addressing U.S. workforce shortages, particularly in underserved communities and essential medical specialties. They are especially vital in primary care fields like Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine, as well as critical subspecialties such as Geriatrics and Nephrology. This is demonstrated by the fact that IMGs filled 44.6% of the matched first-year positions in Internal Medicine this year.
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This year, a total of 9,761 IMGs secured first-year positions in accredited U.S. GME programs, reflecting an increase from 2024 and making up more than one-quarter of all matched applicants. Of these, 3,108 are U.S. citizens, while 6,653 are non-U.S. citizens. The match rates for both U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen IMGs remained steady compared to last year, reflecting the ongoing value of this cohort to U.S. training programs and the U.S. medical education system. An infographic on IMG performance in the 2025 Match can be found here.
Overall, this year’s results underscore the important contributions of IMGs to patients, communities, and the U.S. health care system and reflect the growing opportunities for IMGs to pursue their medical training in the United States.
Eric S. Holmboe, MD, President and CEO of Intealth™, emphasized the significance of this continued success for the U.S. health care system. “IMGs bring invaluable perspectives, experience, expertise, and dedication to patient care, and their growing presence in residency programs strengthens the medical community as a whole,” Dr. Holmboe stated. “At Intealth, we are committed to supporting these physicians throughout their journey, ensuring they have the resources they need to thrive in training and beyond.”
About Intealth
Intealth is a private, nonprofit organization that brings together the expertise and resources for advancing quality in health care education worldwide in order to improve health care for all. Through strategic integration of its divisions, ECFMG® and FAIMER®, Intealth offers a flexible and multi‐layered portfolio of services. These services enhance and support the education and training of health care professionals, verify their qualifications required to practice, and inform the development of health workforce policies around the world. By leveraging these combined competencies, Intealth powers innovation in areas critical to the health professions. Learn more at www.intealth.org.
About ECFMG Certification
ECFMG, a division of Intealth, assesses the readiness of IMGs to enter U.S. GME. The program for certifying IMGs is a rigorous process that includes passing components of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®), the same examinations required of U.S. medical school students and graduates, and demonstration of clinical and communication skills. As part of the certification process, ECFMG also verifies the authenticity of IMGs’ medical education credentials, including their medical diplomas, directly with the issuing medical schools. Only IMGs who are certified by ECFMG can enter accredited U.S. GME programs. Learn more at www.ecfmg.org/certification.
