Ensuring a sufficient supply of doctors and nurses is essential for high-quality healthcare delivery, particularly for ageing populations. In this context, the number of new medical and nursing graduates is a key indicator of the potential influx of new health professionals into health systems. While most EU countries have expanded medical and nursing education programs post-COVID-19, the effect of these changes on the influx of new doctors and nurses will only become apparent after several years due to the length of medical and nursing degree programmes.
The number of medical graduates across the EU increased over the last decade at an average annual rate of over 3.5%, rising from about 48 900 in 2012 to 69 300 in 2022. In contrast, the number of nursing graduates increased at a slower rate of about 0.5% per year, from approximately 159 000 in 2012 to 167 300 in 2022. In 2022, there were 15.5 medical graduates and 37.5 nursing graduates per 100 000 population in the EU as a whole, up from 11.1 medical graduates and 36.0 nursing graduates per 100 000 population in 2012. Defining an optimal target for new medical or nursing graduates is complex; the need for new doctors and nurses is influenced by retention rates within the profession (with higher early departure rates increasing replacement needs) as well as evolving demand for health services due to factors such as population ageing and changing disease burden.
In 2022, the number of new medical graduates per 100 000 population varied significantly across EU countries, ranging from about 12 in Slovenia, Estonia and Germany to over 25 in Ireland, Romania, Latvia, Malta and Bulgaria (Figure 8.13). Between 2012 and 2022, nearly all EU countries saw an increase in medical graduate numbers, with rates more than doubling in Bulgaria, Latvia, and France. Countries leading in medical graduates per capita, such as Bulgaria, Romania and Ireland, largely reflect international student enrollment. Medical schools in Bulgaria and Romania have become leaders in Europe in the share of foreign students in medical education programmes; in 2021/22, nearly 60% of medical students in Bulgaria were foreign nationals (Government of Bulgaria, 2023[1]). This internationalisation of medical education has been facilitated by the EU Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications. However, most international graduates leave these countries after graduation due to limited training opportunities or better career prospects elsewhere (OECD, 2019[2]).
The number of new nursing graduates varied widely across EU countries in 2022. Cyprus and Bulgaria – which also have among the lowest numbers of practising nurses – had the fewest graduates at less than 10 per 100 000 population. Romania and Greece topped the ranking with rates over 100 graduates per 100 000 population, though about 90% of these completed vocational training programmes below the EU Professional Qualifications Directive’s minimum requirements for general nurses (Figure 8.14). Finland, Croatia and the Netherlands followed with more than 60 graduates per 100 000 population. Between 2012 and 2022, approximately half of EU countries experienced an increase in nursing graduate numbers. The largest growth was observed in Greece, the Netherlands, Czechia and Lithuania, where the number of new nursing graduates rose by more than 70% over the past decade. Conversely, Cyprus, the Slovak Republic and Malta saw their annual nursing graduate output decline by over 40%.
A significant obstacle to expanding nursing student enrolment across EU countries is the persistent difficulty in attracting male candidates to the profession. This challenge is rooted in enduring societal stereotypes that predominantly associate nursing with female practitioners, hindering efforts to boost recruitment through increased diversification. This challenge is further compounded by a broader trend of diminishing interest in nursing careers among secondary school students across several European countries between 2018 and 2022, which was especially pronounced in Norway, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom (OECD, 2024[3]). Despite efforts to promote gender diversity in nursing education, the profession remains predominantly female. In the majority of EU countries, female students constitute at least 80% of applicants and admitted students to nursing programmes.
