• The global nursing workforce has grown from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, but wide disparities in the availability of nurses remain across regions and countries.

• It was highlighted in the ‘State of the World’s Nursing 2025’ report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), International Council of Nurses (ICN) and partners. 

• Inequities in the global nursing workforce leave many of the world’s population without access to essential health services, which could threaten progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), global health security and the health-related development goals. 

• The report, based on data reported by 194 countries through the National Health Workforce Accounts, shows a 33 per cent increase in the number of countries reporting data since the last edition in 2020. It includes detailed country profiles now available for public access online.

• The report reveals complex disparities between and among countries, regions and socio-economic contexts. The data and evidence are intended to support country-led dialogue to contextualize the findings into policies and actions.

Key findings of the report:

• Consolidating information from WHO’s 194 Member States, the evidence indicates global progress in reducing the nursing workforce shortage from 6.2 million in 2020 to 5.8 million in 2023, with a projection to decline to 4.1 million by 2030. 

• But, the overall progress still masks deep regional disparities: approximately 78 per cent of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries representing just 49 per cent of the global population.  

• Low and middle-income countries are facing challenges in graduating, employing and retaining nurses in the health system and will need to raise domestic investments to create and sustain jobs.

• In parallel, high-income countries need to be prepared to manage high levels of retiring nurses and review their reliance on foreign-trained nurses, strengthening bilateral agreements with the countries they recruit from.

• Gender and equity remain central concerns in the nursing workforce. Women continue to dominate the profession, making up 85 per cent of the global nursing workforce.

• Findings suggest that one in 7 nurses worldwide — and 23 per cent in high-income countries — are foreign-born, highlighting reliance on international migration. 

• In contrast, the proportion is significantly lower in upper middle-income countries (8 per cent), lower middle-income countries (1 per cent), and low-income countries (3 per cent).

• Low-income countries are increasing nurse graduate numbers at a faster pace than high-income countries. 

• In many countries, hard-earned gains in the graduation rate of nurses are not resulting in improved densities due to the faster pace of population growth and lower employment opportunities.

• To address this, countries should create jobs to ensure graduates are hired and integrated into the health system and improve working conditions.

• Age demographics and retirement trends reveal a mixed picture. The global nursing workforce is relatively young. About 33 per cent of nurses are aged under 35 years, compared with 19 per cent who are expected to retire in the next 10 years. 

• However, in 20 countries — mostly high-income — retirements are expected to outpace new entrants, raising concerns about nurse shortfalls, and having fewer experienced nurses to mentor early career nurses.

• Around two-thirds (62 per cent) of countries reported the existence of advanced practice nursing roles — marking significant progress since 2020 (where only 53 per cent reported advanced practice nursing roles). These types of nurses have been shown to expand access to and quality of care in many different settings. 

• Mental health and workforce well-being remain areas of concern. Only 42 per cent of responding countries have provisions for nurses’ mental health support, despite increased workloads and trauma experienced during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing this is essential to retain skilled professionals and ensure quality of care.

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