By RismadarVoice Media
December 25, 2025
No fewer than 16,156 Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives have been licensed to practise in the United Kingdom between 2017 and September 30, 2025.
The figure, obtained from the latest data on the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register, underscores the deepening brain drain in Nigeria’s healthcare sector, popularly described as (japa) – the mass migration of skilled professionals in search of better remuneration, career progression, and improved working conditions abroad.
The sustained outflow of healthcare workers poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s already strained health system, particularly in rural, underserved communities, and highlights the urgent need for policies aimed at workforce retention, capacity strengthening.
The NMC, the statutory body responsible for regulating nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in the UK, confirmed the figures in an email response to newsmen.
“As of 30 September 2025, there were 16,156 nurses on the register who were educated in Nigeria,” the council stated.
Data from the NMC also showed that as of March 31, 2025, the number of Nigerian-trained nurses on its register stood at 15,421, representing a 4.8 per cent increase over a six-month period.
A report released by the council in March ranked Nigeria as the third-highest source of foreign-trained nurses in the UK, trailing only the Philippines and India.
However, the report noted a general decline in international recruitment across major source countries, including India, the Philippines, and Nigeria.
It added that although the number of UK-trained professionals joining the register has continued to rise, the pace remains insufficient to offset the reduction in overseas recruitment, resulting in a slowdown in overall register growth.
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.
