State of the World’s Nursing 2025 Report | 13 May 2025

Source: TH 

Why in News? 

The World Health Organization (WHO) released the State of the World’s Nursing (SoWN) 2025 report on International Nurses Day (IND). 

What are Key Findings of the SoWN 2025 Report? 

• Global Nursing Workforce: The global nursing workforce grew from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, but 78% of nurses are concentrated in countries representing just 49% of the global population.  
  • The global nurse-to-population ratio is 37.1 per 10,000, with Europe having five times more nurses than Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, and high-income countries having 10 times more than low-income countries.  
  • By 2030, the global nurse workforce is projected to reach 36 million, reducing the shortage from 5.8 million in 2023 to 4.1 million, with 70% of shortages concentrated in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. 
• International Migration: 1 in 7 nurses globally are foreign-born. In HICs, this rises to 23%, compared to 8% in upper middle-income, 1% in lower middle-income, and 3% in LICs. 
• Mental Health and Regulation of Nurses: 92% of countries have regulatory bodies for nurses. 94% have minimum wage laws, but only 42% of countries provide mental health support.

What is the Scenario of Nurses in India? 

• Nurse-to-Population Ratio: India has only 1.9 nurses per 1,000 people, far below the WHO's recommended ratio of 3 nurses per 1,000. 
• Nursing Workforce: India has over 3.3 million nurses registered with the Indian Nursing Council (INC), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, established under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. 
• Expansion of Nursing Education: India committed to opening 157 new nursing colleges by mid-2025 that will add 15,700 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.Sc. Nursing) seats across the country. 

What are the Major Challenges Facing India’s Nursing Sector? 

• Overburdened Nurses: India has only 1.9 nurses per 1,000 people, below the WHO norm of 3, although 3.3 million nurses are registered with the Indian Nursing Council, this is insufficient for India’s 1.3 billion+ population. 
  • India faces a 2.4 million nurse deficit (2010 estimates), this shortage strains nurses, impacting care quality and raising burnout. 
• Urban-Rural Imbalance: Most nurses are concentrated in urban centres, leaving rural and remote areas grossly underserved. 
• Inadequate Training and Upskilling: While India is expanding training programmes, there’s still a lack of continuous professional development. 
  • Many nurses lack access to advanced or specialised education, impacting their ability to deliver high-quality care. 
• Inadequate Compensation and Recognition: Compared to their international counterparts, Indian nurses are poorly paid. Despite being the backbone of healthcare, their contributions are often undervalued or overlooked. 
• Social Stigma and Harassment: Nurses, especially women, face gender bias, disrespect, and harassment from patients, peers, and within the medical hierarchy.  
  • They are often blamed for issues like equipment shortages and doctor unavailability, despite having no control over these factors. Most harassment cases go unreported, causing mental stress. 
• High Migration (Brain Drain): Approximately 640,000 Indian nurses work abroad. A significant number of trained nurses migrate to other countries in search of better salaries, working conditions, and growth opportunities, which weakens India’s healthcare workforce.