State of the World's Nursing Report Shows Wide Disparities in Availability of Nurses Across Countries

The State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report has been published, stating that the global nursing workforce has grown but “wide disparities in the availability of nurses remain across regions and countries.”

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.” Across 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% of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries representing just 49% of the global population.”

Gender and equity “remain central concerns in the nursing workforce. Women continue to dominate the profession, making up 85% of the global nursing workforce.” Findings also suggest that “in 7 nurses worldwide – and 23% in high-income countries – are foreign-born, highlighting reliance on international migration." 82% of countries “reported having a senior government nursing official to manage the nursing workforce.”

Areas of concern include “mental health and workforce well-being.” Only “42% 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.”