Patient groups had expressed alarm at this recruitment process, which bypasses certain language and other tests for overseas doctors.
The GMC stressed that the latest figures showed that it is committed to taking action where doctors fall below standards.
It has commissioned a major review into how the knowledge of foreign doctors is assessed.
GMC chief executive Niall Dickson said "International medical graduates make a huge contribution to health care in the UK and the vast majority of them provide excellent care for their patients.
"However, we know that doctors coming here from overseas can find it difficult to adapt to different cultural norms and it is certainly true that in the past not enough was done to support them when they first came to practise in this country."
