Where the UK stands · OECD · each country's latest reported year
How many practising nurses does the UK have per 1,000 people?
United Kingdom: 9.3 practising nurses per 1,000 people, 23rd of 51 (2024).
Practising nurses per 1,000 people: every country in the OECD's table with a figure within three years of the newest year published; each country's newest year is used and named on the row, highest first. 51 rows. Equal figures share a rank and are printed as ties; the order within a tie is alphabetical and means nothing. The highlighted row is United Kingdom, 23rd of 51.
| # | Name | practising nurses per 1,000 people | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea | 28.9 | 2025 |
| 2 | Norway | 21.7 | 2024 |
| 3 | Belgium | 20.3 | 2025 |
| 4 | United States | 20.2 | 2025 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 19.0 | 2024 |
| 6 | Australia | 18.0 | 2024 |
| 7 | Finland | 16.0 | 2025 |
| 8 | Iceland | 15.8 | 2025 |
| 9 | Ireland | 15.5 | 2025 |
| 10 | Luxembourg | 14.7 | 2024 |
| 11 | Germany | 14.6 | 2024 |
| 12 | New Zealand | 13.8 | 2025 |
| 13 | Japan | 13.4 | 2024 |
| 14 | Hungary | 12.8 | 2024 |
| 15 | Denmark | 12.3 | 2024 |
| 16 | Estonia | 11.9 | 2025 |
| 17 | Netherlands | 11.8 | 2024 |
| 18 | Sweden | 11.8 | 2024 |
| 19 | Canada | 11.2 | 2024 |
| 20 | Croatia | 10.9 | 2024 |
| 21 | Austria | 10.7 | 2024 |
| 22 | Slovenia | 10.6 | 2024 |
| 23 | United Kingdom | 9.3 | 2024 |
| 24 | Lithuania | 9.2 | 2025 |
| 25 | Czechia | 9.1 | 2024 |
| 26 | France | 8.9 | 2023 |
| 27 | Poland | 8.9 | 2024 |
| 28 | Israel | 8.8 | 2025 |
| 29 | Romania | 8.5 | 2024 |
| 30 | Moldova | 8.2 | 2024 |
| 31 | Malta | 8.0 | 2024 |
| 32 | Portugal | 7.7 | 2024 |
| 33 | Serbia | 7.3 | 2024 |
| 34 | Italy | 7.0 | 2024 |
| 35 | Argentina | 6.3 | 2023 |
| 36 | Slovak Republic | 5.8 | 2024 |
| 37 | Montenegro | 5.8 | 2024 |
| 38 | Spain | 5.7 | 2024 |
| 39 | Cyprus | 5.5 | 2024 |
| 40 | Brazil | 5.3 | 2023 |
| 41 | Chile | 4.9 | 2025 |
| 42 | Peru | 4.6 | 2025 |
| 43 | Bulgaria | 4.4 | 2024 |
| 44 | Latvia | 4.1 | 2024 |
| 45 | Greece | 4.1 | 2024 |
| 46 | Türkiye | 3.1 | 2024 |
| 47 | Mexico | 3.1 | 2024 |
| 48 | Thailand | 2.8 | 2024 |
| 49 | Indonesia | 2.2 | 2025 |
| 50 | Colombia | 1.6 | 2025 |
| 51 | Costa Rica | 1.1 | 2025 |
What this table establishes
The table establishes practising nurses per 1,000 people as each country reported them.
It does not establish why countries differ, what any country should spend or provide, or that a rank is a judgement on a health or economic system.
How it is made
Each row is the figure the publisher printed, in practising nurses per 1,000 people. Rows are ordered highest first; nothing is estimated, weighted or adjusted by Civometry.
Nurses include associate professionals where a country reports them together; the OECD's own notes flag the countries whose definition differs.
Source: OECD, Health at a Glance: healthcare resources · OECD terms and conditions (free reuse with attribution). Period: each country's latest reported year. The rank is Civometry’s ordering of published figures, not a judgement on anyone in the table.
United Kingdom: 9.3 practising nurses per 1,000 people, 23rd of 51 (2024).