Nurse and Midwife Register Hits a Record High, But NMC Data Shows Growth Is Slowing Sharply

The register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates eligible to practise in the UK reached a record 867,935 people in the year to March 2026, according to the latest data published by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). That is 14,228 more professionals than the same point the year before, but the pace of growth has slowed markedly.

The register grew by just 1.7 per cent over the year, roughly half the 3.3 per cent growth rate recorded the year before. During the year, 41,542 people joined the register while 30,323 left it, a 5.3 per cent rise in leavers compared with the previous year.

The slowdown is being driven almost entirely by a fall in international recruitment. Just 26.4 per cent of new joiners in 2025-26 were educated outside the UK, down from 39.1 per cent the year before and a peak of 49.4 per cent two years earlier. In real terms, 10,961 internationally educated professionals joined the register for the first time, which is 9,708 fewer, or 47 per cent down, on the previous year.

What is more striking is that the number of UK-educated joiners also fell, for the first time in several years: 30,581 UK-educated professionals joined in the year to March 2026, down 4.9 per cent on the 32,164 who joined the year before. In other words, the slowdown is not only about fewer people coming from overseas; the domestic pipeline has softened too.

Within the figures, midwife numbers grew 4.2 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent growth the previous year, driven by a 10.8 per cent fall in new midwives joining the register. Registered nurse numbers grew by just 1.4 per cent over the year.

On diversity, the data shows a new milestone: for the first time, more than a third of professionals on the register, 293,778 of the 867,935 total, or 33.8 per cent, are from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds.

What this means for jobseekers

• UK-trained nurses, midwives and nursing associates are joining a register that is growing more slowly, which may mean less competition for some posts as fewer overseas-trained staff enter the market.
• Employers who have relied heavily on international recruitment may increasingly need to compete for a smaller pool of domestically trained candidates, which could support pay and negotiating power for UK-based applicants.
• The fall in new UK-educated joiners is worth watching. If it continues, it points to pressure building on training pipelines rather than just on overseas recruitment routes.
• Midwifery saw a sharper drop in new joiners than nursing overall, which may translate into more open maternity vacancies over the coming year.

This is a summary for general information. Read the original source for full detail before relying on it.