Spain needs 100,000 nurses to meet EU average amid regional gaps

The Consejo General de Enfermería (CGE) 2025 ratios report shows Spain’s nursing density at 6.45 per 1,000 inhabitants, well below the EU average of 8.12. The council warns that roughly 100,000 additional nurses are required to reach the European benchmark and to replace an ageing workforce.

Regional figures reveal wide disparities: Navarra leads with 8.97 nurses per 1,000, followed by the Basque Country at 8.21, while Andalusia (5.62), Galicia (5.33) and Murcia (5.23) sit below the national average. Several provinces face acute shortfalls – Lleida needs 1,130 more nurses, the province of Pontevedra (Vigo) records the lowest ratio in Spain at 4.08 per 1,000, Cádiz requires 618 nurses to match the national level and 2,813 to reach the EU average, and Sevilla would need 5,471 nurses.

Andalusia as a whole would need about 22,000 nurses to meet the EU target, accounting for more than a quarter of the national deficit. The CGE stresses that the shortage threatens care for an increasingly elderly population with chronic diseases, notes a high share of temporary contracts, and warns that better conditions elsewhere are prompting a nurse exodus from Spain.

The council calls for urgent policy measures, increased recruitment and retention strategies, and greater investment in the nursing profession to avert a growing health‑care risk.