The number of new nursing graduates is a key indicator to assess the potential number of new entrants to the nursing profession to replace retiring nurses and respond to any current or future shortages. The number of nursing graduates in any given year reflects decisions made a few years earlier (about three years) related to student admissions, although graduation rates are also affected by student dropout rates.
The number of new nursing graduates increased in most OECD countries over the past decade. On average across OECD countries, the number of nursing graduates increased at a rate of about 1.7% per year, from approximately 544 000 in 2013 to 644 000 in 2023. By comparison, the number of medical graduates across OECD countries increased nearly twice as fast over the same period, at an average annual rate of 3.2%.
In 2023, the number of new nursing graduates ranged from no more than 10 per 100 000 population in Colombia and Luxembourg as well as accession country Bulgaria, to over 100 per 100 000 in Australia and Switzerland (Figure 8.21). In Luxembourg, the low numbers is offset by a large number of students who obtain their nursing degree in a neighbouring country, as well as Luxembourg’s capacity to attract nurses from other countries through better pay and working conditions (see section on “Remuneration of nurses”).
In those countries that have different levels of qualifications for different categories of nurses, the growth in graduation rate has varied between the shorter (typically more vocational) and the longer (typically university-based) programmes leading to more qualified positions. In Switzerland, the 45% increase in the number of new graduates between 2013 and 2023 has been driven mainly by a 50% increase in the number of graduates from “associate professional nurse” programmes which outpaced the 40% increase from “professional nurses” programmes. By contrast, in the United States, the 20% growth in the number of nursing graduates between 2013 and 2023 was driven entirely by an increase in the number of graduates from bachelor’s degree programmes while the number of graduates from shorter practical/vocational nursing programmes decreased.
While in most countries numbers of nursing graduates have increased over time, large reductions were observed in the Slovak Republic. This reflects large falls between 2013 and 2020, but numbers have started to increase again since then. In Italy too, the number of nursing graduates decreased substantially between 2013 and 2023 (by over 20% in absolute numbers), mainly reflecting increasing student dropout rates.
While expanding the number of students starting and completing nursing education programmes is key to addressing current and future nurse shortages, the success of this strategy depends on young people’s interest in the profession. According to the most recent OECD PISA surveys, the share of 15‑year‑olds expecting to become nurses declined in half of OECD countries, and the average across OECD countries dropped slightly, from 2.3% in 2018 to 2.1% in 2022 (OECD, 2024[1]). Declines were more marked in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Norway and Denmark. In contrast, Japan saw a significant rise and had the highest share of 15‑year‑old students expecting to become nurses. In several countries, including Poland, the Baltic countries, Hungary, Italy and Greece, fewer than 1% of 15‑year‑olds aspire to become nurses (Figure 8.22). One key reason for the overall low interest is that nursing remains a highly gendered profession: in most OECD countries, over 90% of 15‑year‑old students who expect to become nurses are girls (OECD, 2025[2]).
