The global nursing shortage is expected to improve over the next five years, though significant regional disparities will remain, according to the World Heath Organization’s 2025 State of the World’s Nursing report.
The report, released May 12, offers new insights and estimates on the global nursing workforce and projections through 2030, based on data from 194 member states. The last version of this report was issued in 2020.
Five things to know:
1. The WHO estimates the global nursing workforce has jumped from 27.8 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, though global distribution and density remains highly inequitable.
2. The workforce is projected to grow to 36 million by 2030.
3. The global shortage of nurses is also projected to decrease from 5.8 million in 2023 to 4.1 million in 2030.
4. However, regional disparities are expected to become even more pronounced by 2030, with African and Eastern Mediterranean regions seeing little to no growth in nurse density.
“This report contains encouraging news, for which we congratulate the countries that are making progress,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a May 12 news release. “However, we cannot ignore the inequalities that mark the global nursing landscape. On International Nurses Day, I 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.”
5. In the U.S., the post-pandemic nursing workforce has largely stabilized, with the focus shifting from shortages and recruitment efforts to retention and long-term pipeline development. Employment levels have rebounded since 2022, with 88% of licensed registered nurses and 71% of licensed practical nurse or licensed vocational nurses actively employed, according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s biennial 2024 National Workforce Study released in April.
See the full report here.
