Which EU countries have the most healthcare workers amid shortages?

The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that the European Union will face a shortage of 4.1 million healthcare workers by 2030.

Factors such as low salaries and poor working conditions are often cited as reasons for the mismatch between the supply and demand.

Health and social care is one of the EU sectors with the most evident structural labour shortages, according to a Eurofound study.

In 2023, there were approximately 3.7 million practising nurses and 172,000 practising midwives in the EU, the latest Eurostat figures showed.  

Among EU countries, Germany recorded the highest absolute number of nurses and midwives employed in hospitals (559,000). France (386,163) and Italy (286,051) were the only other EU countries to record more than 200,000 nurses and midwives in hospitals in 2023.

However, Ireland had the highest number of nurses per capita in the EU, with 1,366 practising nurses per 100,000 inhabitants.

This was followed by Finland, with 1,267 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants, and Germany, with 1,225 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants.

In contrast, Romania recorded the lowest ratio, with only 100 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants.

This was followed by Croatia, with 252 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants, and Greece, with 219 nurses per 100,000 inhabitants.

How old is the healthcare workforce?

Lithuania and Latvia were the only EU countries where the share of nurses aged 55 years or over was above 40%.  

Additionally, in 15 out of 24 EU countries, over 30% of practising doctors are also 55 years or older.

In six EU countries, the percentage of older nurses is below 20%, with Romania having the lowest share at 11.8%.

On the other hand, the highest shares of younger nurses under 35 were recorded in Croatia (36.4%), the Netherlands (35.8%), Malta (35.5%), and Spain (34.0%).

Across all EU countries, over 70% of nurses are women, with nine out of 21 member states reporting that more than 90% of their nurses are female.

Latvia has the highest percentage: here, 99.5% of nurses are female.

The highest shares of male nurses are found in Malta and Italy, at 28.2% and 23.8%, respectively.