A global health challenge is intensifying.
Demand for nurses – the backbone of healthcare systems – is growing. While headline figures show supply is also expanding, a deeper look reveals widening gaps, uneven distribution and mounting pressure on poorer regions.
Nurses make up roughly more than 40 per cent of the global health workforce, according to numbers from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Any shortage doesn’t just affect hospitals – it weakens entire healthcare systems, from primary care clinics to emergency response networks.
The numbers: growth on paper
According to the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report by the WHO and International Council of Nurses (ICN):
- In 2023, there were about 29.8 million nurses worldwide.
- By 2030, that number is projected to rise to 35.9 million.
At first glance, this appears to signal progress.
But by 2030, those nurses will need to serve a projected global population of 8.5 billion people, stretching systems that are already under pressure.
Not all regions are affected equally.
The African and Eastern Mediterranean regions are expected to face the most severe shortages in the coming years. These are also regions with some of the greatest healthcare needs.
On the move
Migration is now central to global healthcare staffing. According to the WHO and ICN report, about one in seven nurses works outside the country of their birth.
This reflects how heavily many healthcare systems depend on migrant labour. But the challenge is not simply about overall supply – it is about distribution.
About 78% of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries that account for less than half of the global population.
Across much of Asia, the outflow of nurses to wealthier economies is straining local healthcare systems.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/nurses-beyond-borders-philippines-migration-overseas-home-job-5976451
