The NMC latest Registration Data provides the definitive account of the total available nursing and midwifery workforce, offering valuable insights into trends over the past year. Covering the UK Nurses registration period from April 2024 to March 2025, the annual report reveals both encouraging growth and emerging challenges in workforce sustainability.
What is in the NMC latest Registration Data?
NMC registration data report includes:
- Year-on-year comparisons of register size
- Number of joiners and leavers
- Age breakdowns of registrants
- Data by field of practice (adult, mental health, learning disability, etc.)
- UK vs internationally educated professionals
- Insights into dual registration trends
UK Nurses’ Latest Report: The Big Picture
As of 31 March 2025, the number of professionals on the NMC register reached the all-time high of 853,707 – an increase of 27,289 or 3.3% over the previous 12 months.
Breakdown by professional group:
- Nurses: 788,074 (+3.0%)
- Midwives: 46,606 (+5.6%)
- Nursing Associates (England only): 12,782 (+17.5%)
- Dual Registrants (Nurse & Midwife): 6,245 (-1.8%)
These numbers reflect continued demand and growth across all fields, particularly among nursing associates, who saw the largest percentage increase.
A Closer Look at Joiners and Leavers of UK Nurses
While the number on register is growing overall, a notable trend is the decline in new joiners and a rise in leavers, which may signal longer-term workforce pressures in the UK nursing sector.
- New Joiners: 52,833 (↓ 11.9% from 59,991 in the previous year)
- Leavers: 28,789 (↑ 6.0% from 27,168 last year)
This means that 3.5% of professionals left the register in the past year, a slight increase from 3.4% the previous year.
Closer Look at Slow Down
This slowdown was spread across nations, including the top three sources of international recruitment in recent years: India, the Philippines, and Nigeria. The number of joiners who were educated in these three countries fell by 36.7 percent, 47.6 percent, and 25.5 percent, respectively, over the past year
The number of UK-educated professionals joining the NMC register for the first time has continued to grow, but at a slower rate, and not by enough to offset the fall in international recruitment – hence the overall register of UK nurses has grown more slowly over the past year
Interpretation of the Data
The number of registered UK nurses rose by just 3 percent over the past year, and there were fewer new nurse joiners in the year to March 2025 than during the previous year
The rise in total registrants is a positive indicator of growth and resilience in the profession. However, the fall in joiners, combined with a rise in leavers, suggests an urgent need to support recruitment and retention strategies, particularly as demand for health care services continues to increase.
The strong growth in nursing associate numbers is especially encouraging, reflecting the value of this professional group in addressing workforce shortages and enhancing care delivery.
Final Thought
While considering a growing and dynamic workforce, these numbers indicate the importance of continued efforts in education, international recruitment, and workforce wellbeing. Ensuring sustainable professionals is crucial, not just to maintain service levels but also to ensure the most effective delivery of services that people and communities across the country rely on for their health and wellbeing.
The NMC UK Nurses Vision is safe, effective, and kind nursing and midwifery practice that improves everyone’s health and wellbeing.
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