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A global health challenge is intensifying.<\/span><\/p>\n Demand for nurses \u2013 the backbone of healthcare systems \u2013 is growing. While headline figures show supply is also expanding, a deeper look reveals widening gaps, uneven distribution and mounting pressure on poorer regions.<\/span><\/p>\n Nurses make up roughly more than 40 per cent of the global health workforce, according to numbers from the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/span><\/p>\n Any shortage doesn\u2019t just affect hospitals \u2013 it weakens entire healthcare systems, from primary care clinics to emergency response networks.<\/span><\/p>\n The numbers: growth on paper<\/strong><\/p>\n According to the State of the World\u2019s Nursing 2025 report by the WHO and International Council of Nurses (ICN):<\/span><\/p>\n At first glance, this appears to signal progress.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n Not all regions are affected equally.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n On the move<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n This reflects how heavily many healthcare systems depend on migrant labour. But the challenge is not simply about overall supply \u2013 it is about distribution.<\/span><\/p>\n About 78% of the world\u2019s nurses are concentrated in countries that account for less than half of the global population.<\/span><\/p>\n\n