Countries by Nurses & Midwives

What Nurses Per 1,000 Measures

Nurses Per 1,000 is a health indicator reported by the World Bank that reflects population wellbeing and healthcare system effectiveness. Health metrics are critical for assessing quality of life and are closely watched by organizations like the WHO, UNICEF, and national health ministries.

Why This Ranking Matters

Countries with strong Nurses Per 1,000 performance typically invest heavily in public health infrastructure, preventive care, and nutrition. The ranking reveals stark disparities between high-income and low-income nations, though notable exceptions highlight the impact of targeted health policies.

Global Range

Values range from 0.19 (Central African Republic) to 20.89 (Belgium) — a 109-fold difference across 131 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 15 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 1.59 to 6.71. The overall spread from 0.19 to 20.89 reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Belgium and Finland are separated by only 8%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data. The bottom five countries are all from Africa, pointing to regional challenges that affect nurses per 1,000 across the continent.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Belgium

20.89

Oceania

Australia

13.71

Asia

Japan

12.45

North America

United States

11.88

South America

Uruguay

7.32

Africa

Seychelles

7.27