Emigration figures are established for those doctors who qualified after 1955 and who were listed on the South African Medical and Dental Council's register for 1975, on the basis of their addresses in 1981. Emigration is higher among more recent graduates and those from the older established universities, reaching as much as 30% for the period 1975-1981. Emigration is generally lower among doctors practising in rural as opposed to urban areas. There is little difference between specialists and non-specialists. Recent graduates with an overseas primary qualification are a highly transient population.