The health service and educational systems, together with industry and research centres, are the primary institutions involved in the development of the bio-engineering profession in West Germany. Since industry and research institutions in West Germany are similar in structure to those in other countries, for the purposes of international comparison only the health service and educational systems are described. The questions“how many bioengineers are needed?”and“how many should be trained?”, were the motivation for a professional field analysis commissioned by the German Society for Biomedical Engineering. This commission found a need for about seven thousand bioengineers and bio-technicians in West Germany. It is shown, however, that there are actually very few positions open, and some measures to create more positions are discussed.