The dip from 3735 to 3645 in the space of a year comes despite repeated warnings from GPs to the Scottish Government about a dwindling headcount.
It represents a drop of 2.4 per cent at a time when Scotland’s population is ageing and reports are increasing of patients finding it difficult to secure an appointment.
Last summer, the Royal College of GPs Scotland warned that 740 extra doctors were needed to reach the coverage levels of 2009.
Instead, today’s ISD Scotland report showed, there are 90 fewer.
RCGP has subsequently increased its forecast of what’s needed to 830 new GPs, pointing out that patient satisfaction levels were also dropping.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Donald Cameron said:
"The Scottish Government has been told for many years about the dwindling number of GPs.
"Yet this report shows these warnings have been ignored.
"As a result, patients are paying the price, appointments are hard to come by and those GPs left are feeling overstretched.
"The SNP has been in charge of health for almost a decade.
"It's no surprise we have an ageing and increasing population, yet ministers did nothing about it in terms of workforce planning.
"The Scottish Government needs to now explain why that was."