No fewer than 16,156 nurses and midwives trained in Nigeria have been licensed to practise in the United Kingdom between 2017 and September 30, 2025, according to data from the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
The figure, obtained from the NMC register, reflects the growing migration of Nigerian healthcare professionals abroad, a trend popularly referred to as japa, driven by the search for better pay, improved working conditions and enhanced career prospects.
In an email response, the NMC confirmed that “as of 30 September 2025, there were 16,156 nurses on the register who were educated in Nigeria.”
The data shows a steady increase in the number of Nigerian-trained nurses practising in the UK. As of March 31, 2025, the figure stood at 15,421, indicating a 4.8 per cent rise within six months.
A report released by the council in March ranked Nigeria as the third-largest source of foreign-trained nurses in the UK, behind the Philippines and India. However, the report also noted a general decline in international recruitment across major source countries, including the top three.
According to the NMC, while the number of UK-trained professionals joining the register has continued to rise, the growth has been insufficient to offset the decline in international recruitment, resulting in slower overall register growth in the past year.
The migration trend has raised concerns about its impact on Nigeria’s healthcare system, particularly in rural and underserved communities where shortages of medical personnel remain acute.
Further highlighting the scale of the challenge, the 2025 Nigeria Health Statistics report released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in November revealed that 43,221 healthcare professionals—including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical laboratory scientists—left the country between 2023 and 2024.
The report indicated that more than 23,000 Nigerian nurses and midwives migrated abroad by 2024, with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Ireland listed as the top destinations.
According to the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, Nigeria’s doctor-to-population ratio currently stands at 1:5,000, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of 1:600. The nurse-to-population ratio, he said, is about 1:2,000 compared to the recommended 1:300.
Salako said the Federal Government was working to address the gaps by strengthening primary healthcare, expanding the Health Workforce Registry, increasing training quotas and introducing retention strategies to curb the migration of health professionals.
