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The World Health Organisation has revealed that the global nursing workforce has expanded to 29.8 million in 2023, a notable increase from 27.9 million in 2018.
The Organization has also announced that the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report reveals alarming disparities in nurse availability across different regions and countries, posing a great threat to achieving universal health coverage (UHC), global health security, and other health-related development goals.
The report indicates a positive trend in reducing the global nursing shortage from 6.2 million in 2020 to a projected 4.1 million by 2030, and the overall figures mask profound regional inequalities.
78% of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries that represent less than half (49%) 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.” Reads the report.
The report emphasizes the urgent need for these nations to increase domestic investments to create sustainable job opportunities for nursing professionals.
“We cannot ignore the inequalities that mark the global nursing landscape.
On International Nurses Day, we urge countries and partners to use this report as a signpost, showing us where we’ve come from, where we are now, and where we need to go – as rapidly as possible.”
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