To get a general idea of the actual staffing situation in medical radiation physics, all active members of the German Society of Medical Physics (DGMP) were surveyed by the task force "staff requirements" ("Personalbedarf") of the DGMP in 1999. Of the 322 forms sent out, 173 could be evaluated. The staff requirements in medical radiation physics were calculated from the major elements of the radiology equipment and from the staff responsibilities as defined in the DGMP Reports 8 and 10, and compared with the actual number of staff members. The data of this spot check were then extrapolated for the entire Federal Republic of Germany. The calculation revealed a deficit of 89% for the entire staff in diagnostic radiology and of 84% for physicists. Considering the age distribution of the DGMP members, a training capacity of about 100 medical physicists per year is needed to eliminate the calculated deficit within the next 10 years.