OBJECTIVES: Fears related to the future of anaesthesia manpower in France have led the French College of Anaesthesiologists (Cfar) and the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (Sfar), in scientific partnership with the National Institute for Demographic Studies (Ined), to set-up a national survey among French anaesthetists (MAR) practicing in France, to describe their demographic evolution and to analyse their professional activities. METHODS: The survey was based on a personal questionnaire, filled by each individual, approved by the National Commission on Informatics and Freedoms (CNIL). The survey was conducted in November 1998, in the 1484 hospitals, public (590) and private (894) where anaesthetics are performed, under the control of local and regional referents. RESULTS: The anaesthesiologists positions count gave a total of 9741 positions shared between 5694 in public practice (58%), 3569 in private practice (37%) and 478 in private hospitals taking part to the national health service-PSPH (5%). The evaluation of the number of anaesthesiologists from the number of positions has made necessary a methodology of rectification of the survey to take in account the lack of response and the multiple sites of activity. The survey allows an evaluation of around 8876 physicians practising anaesthesia and intensive care in France at the beginning of 1999, among them 216 overseas. This census is in concordance with the count made by the Medical Council--Ordre des médecins--which published a number of 8716 anaesthesiologists in France, and 234 overseas, at the 1st January 1999, corresponding to a total of 8950. The annual demographic growth has felt from 9% per year, before 1989, to reach the level zero, in 1999. The masculinisation of the speciality is growing with a proportion of 35.7% of females, as well as ageing, the overage of age increasing from 42.8 in 1989 to 45.9 years in 1999. The pyramid of ages does not correspond to a growing population but to ageing people due to a decrease of the youngest classes. The medical density of 14.75 anaesthesiologists for 100,000 inhabitants in 1999, compared to 12.9 in 1989, is slightly above the European average, but the geographic distribution is very unequal between north and south, the large cities, centre of a university hospital, and the smaller one even if a reduction of differences is observed. The study and the analysis of professional activities bring important data to take in account side of demographic evolution. CONCLUSION: The demographic evolution must integrate non-only the reduction of the entries in the speciality, of the retirements, but also the sociological evolutions linked to the working time reduction. The solutions face to the promised shortcut of manpower consist of a reorganisation of the structures, a new definition of tasks and managements, without the possibility to avoid and adjustment of the anaesthesiologists population.