International Nurses Day | 85 per cent of the global nursing workforce are women, WHO report

Highlighting the importance of the global nursing workforce, the World Health Organization (WHO) released State of the World’s Nursing 2025. 

The report released on International Nurses Day, observed on May 12, provides a detailed analysis of the nursing workforce at global, regional and country levels. 

The report highlights that despite the growth of the workforce from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, disparities in the sector still exist. 

"This report contains encouraging news, for which we congratulate the countries that are making progress. 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," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

The State of the World’s Nursing 2025 (SoWN) report highlighted the gender and equity concerns in the sector, focussing that women continue to dominate the profession, making up 85% of the global nursing workforce. 

Stressing upon the reliance on international migration, the report mentions that  1 in 7 nurses worldwide are foreign-born. 

It was also observed that low-income countries are increasing nurse graduate numbers at a faster pace than high-income countries. The employment opportunities in the sector need to be addressed with job creation policies to be implemented by the countries. 

Among other concerns affecting the workforce, mental health and well-being still stood unresolved in many countries. It was reported that 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.

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