International nurse migration statistics come mainly from two kinds of source: the World Health Organization (WHO), which collects workforce data from countries, and nursing regulators, which count who joins their registers. The headline figures today: there were 29.8 million nurses worldwide in 2023 and a global nursing shortage of 5.8 million, projected to fall to 4.1 million by 2030. About one in seven nurses works in a country other than where they were born, rising to 23% in high-income countries. In the UK, the number of internationally educated nurses and midwives joining the register fell by 47% in the year to March 2026.
This page collects the official numbers, explains what they mean and links each to its source. We checked every figure on 16 October 2026. Statistics are revised, so check the linked reports for the latest edition.
Global nursing shortage statistics
WHO’s State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report, published on 12 May 2025, is the main global source (WHO report page; full report). Its figures, mostly for 2023:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Nurses worldwide, 2023 | 29.8 million (27.9 million in 2018) |
| Global nursing shortage, 2020 | 6.2 million |
| Global nursing shortage, 2023 | 5.8 million |
| Projected shortage, 2030 | 4.1 million |
| Projected nurses, 2030 | about 36 million |
| Nurses per 10,000 people, 2023 | 37.1 globally; 100.4 in high-income countries; 9.3 in low-income countries |
| Share of nurses who are women | about 85% |
| Nurses under 35 / aged 55 or over | 33% / 19% |
| Midwives worldwide | about 2.2 million, with a shortage of about 900,000 |
The 2020 shortage and the midwife figures come from WHO’s fact sheet on nursing and midwifery (WHO fact sheet).
Is the nursing shortage getting better?
At the global level, slowly. The shortage fell from 6.2 million in 2020 to 5.8 million in 2023, and WHO projects 4.1 million by 2030 if current trends continue. But WHO stresses that the shortage is moving, not disappearing: about 70% of the 2030 shortage will be in the WHO African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, where population growth means little or no rise in nurses per person.
Where the nurses are
The distribution is very uneven. WHO reports that around 78% of the world’s nurses work in countries with only 49% of the world’s population, and that high-income countries have 17% of the population but 46% of the world’s nurses. Nurse density in high-income countries is about ten times that of low-income countries.
Nursing shortage by 2030
WHO’s projection to 2030 has three parts: the number of nurses keeps growing (to about 36 million, an average 2.7% a year), global density rises from 37.1 to 42.5 nurses per 10,000 people, and the shortage narrows to 4.1 million but concentrates in the poorest regions. WHO also flags age: in 20 countries, mostly high-income and in Europe, more nurses are expected to retire in the next 10 years than there are early-career nurses. That is one reason those countries keep recruiting abroad.
Nurse migration: foreign-born and foreign-trained nurses
WHO measures migration in two ways: where nurses were born and where they were trained. Not every country reports these, so the figures cover 80 countries (birth) and 87 countries (training).
Foreign-born nurses
“Approximately one in seven practising nurses in 2023 was born in another country”, WHO says. By region and income group:
| Group | Share of nurses who are foreign-born |
|---|---|
| High-income countries | 23% |
| Upper middle-income countries | 8% |
| Lower middle-income countries | 1% |
| Low-income countries | 3% |
| Eastern Mediterranean Region | 61% |
| Western Pacific Region | 26% |
| European Region | 14% |
| South-East Asia Region | 8% |
| Region of the Americas | 6% |
| African Region | 3% |
| Global (80 reporting countries) | 15% |
The Eastern Mediterranean figure includes the Gulf states. WHO notes it lacks updated data from the region’s most populous countries, so treat it with care.
Foreign-trained nurses
| Group | Share of nurses trained abroad |
|---|---|
| High-income countries | 16% (about one in six) |
| Upper middle-income countries | 6% |
| Lower middle-income countries | 8% |
| Low-income countries | 1% |
| Western Pacific Region | 22% |
| South-East Asia Region | 19% |
| Eastern Mediterranean Region | 14% |
| European Region | 10% |
| Africa and the Americas | 6% each |
| All 87 reporting countries | 11% |
WHO describes high-income countries’ reliance on foreign-born nurses as “a transfer of educational investment from low- to high-income countries”, which can weaken the health systems that trained them.
Ethical recruitment and the safeguards list
Because of this, WHO keeps a Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List. The 2023 list has 55 countries with fewer doctors, nurses and midwives than the global median of 49 per 10,000 people and low health service coverage (WHO safeguards list). Employers that follow WHO’s Code of Practice do not actively recruit from these countries. You are still free to move on your own. Our guide to ethical nurse recruitment and scams explains what this means for you.
UK nurse migration statistics
The UK regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), publishes register data every year. Its report for 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 shows a sharp drop in international recruitment (NMC registration data; NMC UK report):
| Measure, year to March 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| People on the NMC register | 867,935 (a record; up 1.7%) |
| Nurses / midwives on the register | 799,001 / 48,545 |
| Internationally educated professionals on the register | 212,109 (24.4%) |
| New joiners | 41,542 |
| Internationally educated new joiners | 10,961, down 47% from 20,669 |
| Share of new joiners educated abroad | 26.4% (39.1% a year earlier, 49.4% in 2023-24) |
| Leavers | 30,323, of whom 5,229 were internationally educated |
Top countries for UK international joiners
| Rank | Country | Joiners 2025-26 | Change on previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 4,215 | down 54.4% (from 9,249) |
| 2 | Nigeria | 1,614 | down 31.7% (from 2,363) |
| 3 | Ghana | 1,391 | down 22.0% (from 1,783) |
For the first time since 2015-16, the Philippines was not in the top three. The NMC notes that Nigeria and Ghana are “red list” countries, where active recruitment is prohibited by the codes of practice, but that nurses and midwives are free to decide where they practise themselves.
The NMC also says most internationally educated nurses join as adult nurses, so the drop in international joiners is slowing growth in adult nursing. New midwife joiners fell 10.8% (3,304 against 3,704). The NMC report does not explain the causes of the fall in detail; it says it will monitor the trend.
Nurse migration from the Philippines and India
These are the two countries most associated with nurse migration. From the sources above we can confirm only the UK side: India was the largest source of new UK international joiners in 2025-26, and the Philippines fell out of the top three. We did not find an official source for total Philippine or Indian nurse emigration that we could open and quote, so we give no figure here rather than repeat unverified numbers.
What our own job data shows
On Nurse Jobs World on 16 October 2026 we listed 56,819 open nursing jobs worldwide (all jobs), all taken directly from hospital and healthcare employers’ career sites. The counts by country that day:
| Country | Open nursing jobs |
|---|---|
| United States | 52,508 |
| Canada | 2,291 |
| Australia | 824 |
| United Kingdom | 682 |
| Singapore | 107 |
| United Arab Emirates | 94 |
| New Zealand | 74 |
| Qatar | 32 |
| Ireland | 21 |
These numbers show where we can read employers’ job feeds, not the size of each country’s shortage. US hospital systems publish large, machine-readable career sites, while many NHS and Gulf employers do not yet publish their vacancies in a form we can read. Only 248 jobs were marked as open to applicants abroad (jobs open to applicants abroad), and 64 as visa-sponsored (visa sponsorship jobs). Most hospital ads do not say whether they sponsor visas, so ask.
What this means for you
- Demand is real but uneven. High-income countries have the most nurses and still recruit abroad because of ageing workforces.
- Destination rules matter more than the shortage. A shortage does not shorten registration. Each regulator still needs your documents, English and exams. See our guides to CGFNS and VisaScreen, Singapore Nursing Board registration, nurse jobs in Saudi Arabia and nurse jobs in Qatar.
- Recruitment can slow fast. The UK’s international joiners halved in a single year. Have more than one destination in mind.
- Midwives are in short supply too. See midwife jobs abroad.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the global nursing shortage?
WHO estimates the global nursing shortage at 5.8 million in 2023, down from 6.2 million in 2020. It projects a shortage of 4.1 million by 2030, with about 70% of it in the WHO African and Eastern Mediterranean regions.
How many nurses work outside their country of birth?
About one in seven. WHO’s State of the World’s Nursing 2025 found that roughly 15% of nurses in the 80 reporting countries were foreign-born, rising to 23% in high-income countries. About 11% of nurses in 87 reporting countries were trained abroad.
How many international nurses joined the UK register in 2025-26?
The NMC reports that 10,961 professionals educated outside the UK joined its register between April 2025 and March 2026, 47% fewer than the 20,669 the year before. They made up 26.4% of all new joiners.
Which country sends the most nurses to the UK?
India. It was the largest source of internationally educated joiners to the NMC register in 2025-26, with 4,215 joiners, followed by Nigeria (1,614) and Ghana (1,391). The Philippines was not in the top three for the first time since 2015-16.
Is there a global nursing shortage in 2026?
The latest WHO estimate is for 2023, when the shortage was 5.8 million nurses. WHO’s projection falls to 4.1 million by 2030, so a shortage of several million nurses is expected throughout this period, concentrated in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.