Nurses and midwives, total — all countries

Nurses and midwives, total — Europe & Central Asia

Nurses and midwives, total in Europe & Central Asia in 2023 — 5,439,774 people. Since 1999, the indicator has risen by 45.6%.

2023 5.44M people −16.93% vs 2022
World rank
Period maximum 7.27M people2020
Period minimum 3.74M people1999

Trend over time

1999–2023 · people

Nurses and midwives, total — Europe & Central Asia, 1999–20233M4M5M6M7M8M1999200220052008201120142017202020231999: 3,735,074 people2000: 5,787,283 people2001: 5,779,305 people2002: 6,092,895 people2003: 6,164,941 people2004: 6,333,216 people2005: 6,402,372 people2006: 6,482,631 people2007: 6,545,345 people2008: 6,609,513 people2009: 6,606,680 people2010: 6,660,316 people2011: 6,710,334 people2012: 6,841,712 people2013: 6,780,362 people2014: 6,948,535 people2015: 6,739,501 people2016: 6,816,024 people2017: 6,873,691 people2018: 6,942,678 people2019: 7,081,018 people2020: 7,268,729 people2021: 7,111,869 people2022: 6,548,426 people2023: 5,439,774 people
Change over the period: +1.7M (+45.64%) Average annual rate: 1.58 %
Nurses and midwives, total — Europe & Central Asia, by year Europe & Central Asia All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2023 5.44M −1.11M −16.93%
2022 6.55M −563,443 −7.92%
2021 7.11M −156,860 −2.16%
2020 7.27M +187,711 +2.65%
2019 7.08M +138,340 +1.99%
2018 6.94M +68,987 +1%
2017 6.87M +57,667 +0.85%
2016 6.82M +76,523 +1.14%
2015 6.74M −209,034 −3.01%
2014 6.95M +168,173 +2.48%
2013 6.78M −61,350 −0.9%
2012 6.84M +131,378 +1.96%
2011 6.71M +50,018 +0.75%
2010 6.66M +53,636 +0.81%
2009 6.61M −2,833 −0.04%
2008 6.61M +64,168 +0.98%
2007 6.55M +62,714 +0.97%
2006 6.48M +80,259 +1.25%
2005 6.4M +69,156 +1.09%
2004 6.33M +168,275 +2.73%
2003 6.16M +72,046 +1.18%
2002 6.09M +313,590 +5.43%
2001 5.78M −7,978 −0.14%
2000 5.79M +2.05M +54.94%
1999 3.74M

About the indicator

The number of nursing and midwifery personnel, from WHO. This category is almost always the largest in a health system — worldwide there are on average about three times as many nurses as physicians, and in countries with developed primary care the gap is wider still.

Important: The ratio of nurses to physicians speaks of the structure of a system: a low value usually means that physicians are doing the work of nursing care, and that is a sign of a staffing shortage rather than of an abundance of doctors.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.