Over a third of the nursing and midwifery workforce is Black, Asian and ethnic minority for the first time

• The overall Register has reached a new high of 867,935 – but growth has roughly halved between 2024-25 and 2025-26
• There’s been a further sharp decline in international joiners – 26.4% of new joiners were internationally educated in 2025-26, compared to a peak of 49.4% just two years before

New data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) show that, for the first time, more than a third of professionals on the Register are Black, Asian and ethnic minority professionals – 293,778 out of a record total of 867,935 people now on the Register (33.8%).

The data show that UK-educated joiners are becoming more ethnically diverse – last year, 35% of new joiners from the UK were Black, Asian and ethnic minority people, which is 12.7 percentage points higher than in the 12 months to March 2021 (22.3%).

The news comes at a time when many Black, Asian and ethnic minority nursing and midwifery professionals are experiencing worsening racism while delivering care on the frontline. The NMC says that racism and other forms of discrimination have no place in health and care – it is incumbent on the regulator to play its part in confronting racist stereotypes and everyday biases that persist in the sector.

That is why the NMC is calling on employers across the UK to embed its landmark new anti-racism principles for midwifery and nursing education and practice. These principles are intended to drive meaningful change ahead of a consultation on revisions to the Code – the standards of performance and conduct for all nursing and midwifery professionals – which will include proposals to strengthen expectations on nurses, midwives and nursing associates to recognise, challenge and disrupt racism.

While the overall Register has reached a new record high – accounting for around one in 50 people in employment in the UK – the pace of growth has roughly halved. In 2025-26, the Register grew by 1.7% (14,228 professionals) but in the previous year it grew by 3.3% (27,289 professionals).

This slower growth is mainly due to a significant fall in the number of people joining the Register and a modest increase in those leaving. In 2025-26, a total of 41,542 professionals joined for the first time, which is 21.4% fewer than the year before (52,833). Meanwhile there were 30,323 leavers – an increase of 5.3% (from 28,789 in 2024-25).

While the number of UK-educated professionals joining the Register fell by 4.9%, there has been a much sharper fall in international joiners. At the peak in 2023-24, 49.4% of all joiners to the Register were internationally educated. This fell to 39.1% in 2024-25 and has dropped even further to just 26.4% in 2025-26.

India remains the largest source of international joiners, with 4,215 joiners in 2025-26 but this is a 54.4% fall compared to the previous year (9,249). Nigeria is the second largest source, with 1,614 joiners – a fall of 31.7% (2,363).

For the first time since 2015-16, the Philippines was not one of the top three sources of international joiners – Ghana is now the third largest international source, with 1,391 joiners in 2025-26, a 22.0% decrease compared to the previous year (1,783).

This means that two of the three biggest sources of international joiners to the UK’s nursing and midwifery workforce – Nigeria and Ghana – are ‘red list’ countries, where active recruitment is prohibited by the UK Government’s code of practice.

A total of 30,323 people left the Register in 2025-26 – a 5.3% increase compared to the previous year (28,789). Responses to the regulator’s annual leavers’ survey show that the top three reasons for leaving have been consistent over time: retirement, followed by physical or mental health, and burnout or exhaustion.

Emma Westcott, Executive Director of Strategy and Insight at the NMC, said:

“The total nursing and midwifery workforce is now larger and more ethnically diverse than ever. The 293,778 Black, Asian and ethnic minority professionals on the NMC Register are essential to the delivery of the safe and effective care we all rely on.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever that our professions can practise without exposure to racism or discrimination. We have recently published anti-racism principles for education and practice, and we’re consulting shortly on a revised Code with clearer expectations that all nursing and midwifery professionals recognise, challenge and disrupt racism.

“We also call on employers to continue adhering to the Government’s ethical code of recruitment, since two of the top three countries of education outside the UK are on the ‘red list’. While professionals from across the world want to come and work in UK health and care, and we welcome their contribution, we don’t want to undermine health systems in countries with the biggest workforce challenges.”

Editor’s notes

• The NMC Register shows the total number of nursing and midwifery professionals eligible to practise in the UK. Our registrants work in a wide range of sectors including the NHS, social care, the secure estate, local authorities, schools, national organisations and higher education. Not everyone on the Register will currently be working.
• The nursing associate role was introduced in 2019 in England only. It bridges the gap between registered nurses and health and care assistants.
• The number of joiners, leavers and total people registered won’t add up exactly. That’s because the data on joiners only include people joining the Register for the first time. It doesn’t include people re-joining after a break from practising.
• The Register changes every day and can vary considerably from the start of the month to the end of the month. Therefore, our data offer a snapshot in time. This report gives a snapshot of the Register on 31 March 2026.
• The NMC is not responsible for recruitment. The Department of Health and Social Care’s and Scottish Government’s codes of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel prohibit active recruitment from ‘red list’ countries designated by the World Health Organisation. The codes do not prevent individual health workers from ‘red list’ countries from seeking employment independently.

For more information, please email media@nmc-uk.org or call 07881 327 517.

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