Did you ever wonder how many nurses there are in the world? Well, there are 19.3 million nurses and midwives according to the World Health Organization's World Health Statistics Report, 2011. Global numbers and nurses in English speaking countries are presented in the tables below. [The numbers in ( ) show percent changes from 2009, and actual N per population in the 2009 report].

Region	Number of Nurses	N per 10,000 Population
Africa	805,000 (+1.6%)	11 (11)
Americas	5,259,000 (+28.4%)	61 (49)
South-East Asia	2,224,000 (+13.7%)	13 (12)
Europe	6,620,000 (-0.6%)	75 (79)
Eastern Mediterranean	870,000 (+18.4%)	15 (15)
Western Pacific	3,600,000 (+5.4%)	20 (20)
Total	19,380,000 (+9.8%)	30 (28)

Numbers of nurses in English speaking countries:

Country	Number of Nurses	N per 10,000 Population
Australia	201,000 (+6.9%)	96 (97)
Canada	327,000 (-1.8%)	101 (101)
India	1,431,000 (+4.3%)	13 (13)
New Zealand	44,000 (+33.3%)	108 (89)
Philippines	488,000 (+1.4%)	60 (61)
South Africa	184,000 (0%)	41 (41)
United Kingdom	621,000 (-16.1%)	103 (128)
United States of America	2,927,000 (+9.6%)	98 (94)
Total	6,223,000 (+13.7%)

The number of nurses in each country can vary somewhat due to different dates and definitions used. Here are some more recent statistics on nurses in Canada and the United States:

Canada (2010, Canadian Institute for Health Information)

• 287,000 RNs (Registered Nurses)
• 81,000 LPNs (Licensed Practical Nurses)
• 5,300 RPNs (Registered Psychiatric Nurses)

United States (2010, US Bureau of Labour Statistics)

• 2.74 million RNs
• 752,000 LPNs
• 1.5 million nursing, psychiatric and home care aides

For more information on the numbers of nurses in various countries, view the World Health Organization's World Health Statistics, 2011.