Registration data reports - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

What we publish

Our register tells us how many nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK) and nursing associates in England are currently able to practise. We publish data from our register every six months.

Our annual reports cover the 12 month period from April to March every year, but we also publish a mid-year report covering the six month period from April to September.

As well as the size of the register, our reports show the number of joiners and leavers, a breakdown of the register by age and field of practice, and much more.

The big picture

Our register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates has reached a record 808,488. This is encouraging given the well-publicised pressure on health and care services at a time of rising demand for care.

This means there are 19,857 (2.5 percent) more professionals eligible to practise in the UK than there were just six months ago, and 114,874 (16.6 percent) more than five years ago.

The number of registered nurses and midwives now sits at 748,528 and 42,974, respectively. We’ve also reached a milestone of more than 10,000 nursing associates – good news for people using services in England, where this relatively new role bridges the gap between health and care assistants, and registered nurses.

Please see more detail in the reports below.

Latest report

November 2023 Mid-year report

Full UK report

The NMC register UK mid-year update Diweddariad canol blwyddyn cofrestr yr NMC

Easy read NMC register UK mid-year update Hawdd ei Ddeall Diweddariad canol blwyddyn cofrestr yr NMC

UK permanent register data tables

Non-UK address data tables

The NMC temporary register data tables

England

The NMC register England mid-year update

England permanent register data tables

Scotland

The NMC register Scotland mid-year update

Scotland permanent register data table

Wales

The NMC register Wales mid-year update Diweddariad canol blwyddyn cofrestr yr NMC Cymru

Wales permanent register data tables

Northern Ireland

The NMC register Northern Ireland mid-year update

Northern Ireland permanent register data table

How to interpret our data

Our permanent register tells us how many nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK) and nursing associates in England are currently able to practise. Not everyone on our 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. Some nursing associates have registered addresses in Scotland and Wales.
People who joined our register in 2021–2022 joined through different processes, depending on whether they were from the UK, the EU/EEA or outside the EU/EEA. Now that the UK has left the EU/EEA, everyone starting an application to join our register from outside the UK follows the same international process.
Where we say ‘country of initial registration’ we mean that the data refers to where people first held professional registration as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate. Where we say ‘country of training’ we mean that the data refers to where people trained rather than where they first held professional registration.
The number of joiners, leavers and total people registered won’t add up exactly. That’s because the joiner's data only includes people joining the register for the first time. It doesn’t include people who re-joined after a break from practising.
Our permanent register changes every day and can vary considerably from the start of the month to the end of the month. Therefore, our data only offers a snapshot in time. This report gives a snapshot of our register on 30 September 2023.
We continually review the quality and content of our data and information. When improved data or additional information becomes available, we retrospectively update our previously published information. This means that when comparing data in our latest reports against some of our previous publications, you may see small differences in some data. For the most accurate data about the previous five years, always refer to the latest published report.
The NMC is not responsible for recruitment. The Department of Health and Social Care, and the Scottish Government codes of practice for 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 seeking employment independently, but employers should not be actively recruiting from those countries.
Where we use the terms ‘recruitment and retention’ we are referring to people joining our register for the first time or leaving it.
Adding the number of internationally educated registrants from the four countries together will not equal the total UK figures. This is because our four nation data reports are based on the number of people with a registered UK address. The true figure of internationally educated joiners in our four nation reports will be higher because professionals aren’t required to give us a UK address in order to join the register. We’re encouraging professionals to help us further enhance the value of our data by giving us their UK address as soon as they have one. International professionals can share their registered UK address through NMC Online.
Our latest reports do not include data about the temporary register. In March 2020 we established a Covid-19 temporary register to support the UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic which is due to close in March 2024. Data from the temporary register is reported separately in the accompanying data tables.

November 2023

Sut i ddehongli ein data

Mae ein cofrestr barhaol yn dweud wrthym faint o nyrsys a bydwragedd yn y Deyrnas Unedig (DU) a chymdeithion nyrsio yn Lloegr sy'n gallu ymarfer ar hyn o bryd. Ni fydd pawb ar ein cofrestr yn gweithio ar hyn o bryd.
Cyflwynwyd rôl y cydymaith nyrsio yn 2019 yn Lloegr yn unig. Mae’n pontio’r bwlch rhwng nyrsys cofrestredig, a chynorthwywyr iechyd a gofal. Mae gan rai cymdeithion nyrsio gyfeiriadau cofrestredig yng Nghymru a'r Alban.
Fe wnaeth pobl a ymunodd â'n cofrestr yn 2021–2022 ymuno drwy brosesau gwahanol, yn dibynnu a oeddent yn dod o'r DU, yr UE/AEE neu'r tu allan i'r UE/AEE. Nawr bod y DU wedi gadael yr UE/AEE, mae pawb sy’n dechrau cais i ymuno â’n cofrestr o’r tu allan i’r DU yn dilyn yr un broses ryngwladol.
Lle rydym yn dweud ‘gwlad y cofrestriad cychwynnol’ rydym yn golygu bod y data’n cyfeirio at ble roedd pobl wedi cael cofrestriad proffesiynol cyntaf fel nyrs, bydwraig neu gydymaith nyrsio. Lle rydym yn dweud ‘gwlad hyfforddi’ rydym yn golygu bod y data’n cyfeirio at ble yr hyfforddwyd pobl yn hytrach na ble roedd ganddynt gofrestriad proffesiynol am y tro cyntaf.
Ni fydd nifer y rhai sy'n ymuno, y rhai sy'n gadael a chyfanswm y bobl sydd wedi'u cofrestru yn adio'n union. Mae hynny oherwydd bod data'r ymunwr yn cynnwys pobl sy'n ymuno â'r gofrestr am y tro cyntaf yn unig. Nid yw’n cynnwys pobl a ail-ymunodd ar ôl seibiant o ymarfer.
Mae ein cofrestr barhaol yn newid bob dydd a gall amrywio'n sylweddol o ddechrau'r mis i ddiwedd y mis. Felly, dim ond ciplun mewn amser y mae ein data yn ei gynnig. Mae’r adroddiad hwn yn rhoi cipolwg o’n cofrestr ar 30 Medi 2023.
Rydym yn adolygu ansawdd a chynnwys ein data a'n gwybodaeth yn barhaus. Pan fydd data gwell neu wybodaeth ychwanegol ar gael, byddwn yn diweddaru ein gwybodaeth a gyhoeddwyd yn flaenorol yn ôl-weithredol. Mae hyn yn golygu, wrth gymharu data yn ein hadroddiadau diweddaraf â rhai o’n cyhoeddiadau blaenorol, efallai y gwelwch wahaniaethau bach mewn rhai data. I gael y data mwyaf cywir am y pum mlynedd flaenorol, cyfeiriwch bob amser at yr adroddiad cyhoeddedig diweddaraf.
Nid yw'r NMC yn gyfrifol am recriwtio. Mae’r Adran Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol , a chodau ymarfer Llywodraeth yr Alban ar gyfer recriwtio rhyngwladol o bersonél iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol, yn gwahardd recriwtio gweithredol o wledydd ‘rhestr goch’ a ddynodwyd gan Sefydliad Iechyd y Byd. Nid yw’r codau’n atal gweithwyr iechyd unigol o wledydd ‘rhestr goch’ rhag ceisio cyflogaeth yn annibynnol, ond ni ddylai cyflogwyr fod yn recriwtio’n weithredol o’r gwledydd hynny.
Lle rydym yn defnyddio’r termau ‘recriwtio a chadw’ rydym yn cyfeirio at bobl sy’n ymuno â’n cofrestr am y tro cyntaf neu’n ei gadael.
Ni fydd adio nifer y cofrestreion a addysgwyd yn rhyngwladol o'r pedair gwlad at ei gilydd yn hafal i gyfanswm ffigurau'r DU. Mae hyn oherwydd bod ein hadroddiadau data pedair gwlad yn seiliedig ar nifer y bobl sydd â chyfeiriad cofrestredig yn y DU. Bydd gwir ffigwr y rhai sy’n ymuno ag addysg ryngwladol yn ein hadroddiadau pedair gwlad yn uwch oherwydd nid oes angen i weithwyr proffesiynol roi cyfeiriad yn y DU i ni er mwyn ymuno â’r gofrestr. Rydym yn annog gweithwyr proffesiynol i’n helpu i wella gwerth ein data ymhellach drwy roi eu cyfeiriad DU i ni cyn gynted ag y bydd ganddynt un. Gall gweithwyr proffesiynol rhyngwladol rannu eu cyfeiriad cofrestredig yn y DU trwy NMC Online.
Nid yw ein hadroddiadau diweddaraf yn cynnwys data am y gofrestr dros dro. Ym mis Mawrth 2020 fe wnaethom sefydlu cofrestr dros dro Covid-19 i gefnogi ymateb y DU i’r pandemig coronafeirws sydd i fod i gau ym mis Mawrth 2024. Mae data o’r gofrestr dros dro yn cael ei adrodd ar wahân yn y tablau data cysylltiedig.