Nurses and midwives, total — all countries

Nurses and midwives, total — Western Europe

Nurses and midwives, total in Western Europe in 2023 — 1,530,456 people. Since 2000, the indicator has risen by 21.2%.

2023 1.53M people −7.78% vs 2022
World rank
Period maximum 2.27M people2021
Period minimum 1.26M people2000

Trend over time

2000–2023 · people

Nurses and midwives, total — Western Europe, 2000–20231M1.5M2M2.5M2000200320062009201220152018202120232000: 1,262,945 people2001: 1,283,616 people2002: 1,437,501 people2003: 1,475,116 people2004: 1,596,578 people2005: 1,632,166 people2006: 1,663,252 people2007: 1,689,005 people2008: 1,729,344 people2009: 1,631,721 people2010: 1,661,050 people2011: 1,693,794 people2012: 1,730,356 people2013: 1,755,931 people2014: 1,972,687 people2015: 2,008,061 people2016: 2,051,095 people2017: 2,088,189 people2018: 2,141,104 people2019: 2,209,858 people2020: 2,261,127 people2021: 2,267,701 people2022: 1,659,581 people2023: 1,530,456 people
Change over the period: +267,511 (+21.18%) Average annual rate: 0.84 %
Nurses and midwives, total — Western Europe, by year Western Europe All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2023 1.53M −129,125 −7.78%
2022 1.66M −608,120 −26.82%
2021 2.27M +6,574 +0.29%
2020 2.26M +51,269 +2.32%
2019 2.21M +68,754 +3.21%
2018 2.14M +52,915 +2.53%
2017 2.09M +37,094 +1.81%
2016 2.05M +43,034 +2.14%
2015 2.01M +35,374 +1.79%
2014 1.97M +216,756 +12.34%
2013 1.76M +25,575 +1.48%
2012 1.73M +36,562 +2.16%
2011 1.69M +32,744 +1.97%
2010 1.66M +29,329 +1.8%
2009 1.63M −97,623 −5.65%
2008 1.73M +40,339 +2.39%
2007 1.69M +25,753 +1.55%
2006 1.66M +31,086 +1.9%
2005 1.63M +35,588 +2.23%
2004 1.6M +121,462 +8.23%
2003 1.48M +37,615 +2.62%
2002 1.44M +153,885 +11.99%
2001 1.28M +20,671 +1.64%
2000 1.26M

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.