Nursing personnel in United States

United States: Nursing personnel was 4.28 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
4.28 million
Change on year
up 3.4%
World rank
2nd
of 189 countries
All-time high
4.57 million
in 2022
All-time low
1.27 million
in 1980
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Nursing personnel in United States, 1980–2024

1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M1980200220241980: 1.3M1981: 1.3M1982: 1.4M1983: 1.4M1984: 1.5M1985: 1.5M1986: 1.6M1987: 2.5M1988: 2.5M1989: 2.6M1990: 2.6M1991: 2.7M1992: 2.8M1993: 2.9M1994: 3.0M1995: 2.1M1996: 3.0M1997: 3.0M1998: 3.1M1999: 2.9M2000: 2.9M2001: 2.9M2002: 2.9M2003: 2.9M2004: 3.0M2005: 3.1M2006: 3.1M2007: 3.2M2008: 3.3M2009: 3.3M2010: 3.4M2011: 3.5M2012: 3.5M2013: 3.5M2014: 3.6M2015: 3.6M2016: 3.8M2017: 3.8M2018: 3.9M2019: 4.4M2020: 4.3M2021: 4.4M2022: 4.6M2023: 4.1M2024: 4.3M

Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.

Analysis

United States recorded 4.28 million for nursing personnel in 2024.

The figure is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 20.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, nursing personnel in United States peaked at 4.57 million in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.27 million, in 1980.

That places United States 2nd out of 189 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 1.76 million 1.27 million 2.62 million 10
1990s 2.82 million 2.12 million 3.10 million 10
2000s 3.06 million 2.87 million 3.31 million 10
2010s 3.69 million 3.39 million 4.37 million 10
2020s 4.34 million 4.14 million 4.57 million 5

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 1 China (People’s Republic of) 5.64 million compare
  2. 3 India 3.94 million compare
  3. 4 Japan 1.52 million compare
  4. 5 Brazil 1.24 million compare

See the full ranking of 190 places →

More health data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is nursing personnel in United States?
Nursing personnel in United States was 4.28 million in 2024, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
What is the highest nursing personnel recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 4.57 million in 2022.
What is the lowest nursing personnel recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 1.27 million in 1980.
How does United States rank for nursing personnel?
United States ranks 2nd out of 189 countries with data for 2024.
Is nursing personnel rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Nursing personnel (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Nursing personnel in United States. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/nursing-personnel-number/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator
Nursing personnel (number)
Source
World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO)
Coverage
190 places, 3,845 data points, 1971–2024
Last refreshed