Nigeria faces health worker shortage as 10,494 professionals join UK NHS

Data from the campaign organization NHS Million reveals that 10,494 Nigerians are currently employed within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). Nigeria represents the largest African nationality in the NHS workforce, ranking sixth overall behind British, Indian, Filipino, Irish, and Polish nationals.

This migration coincides with a significant healthcare workforce crisis in Nigeria. According to the 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report from Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, more than 20,000 health professionals relocated abroad within a single year. This exodus included 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, and thousands of medical laboratory professionals, pharmacists, and dentists.

Nigeria’s domestic medical capacity is further strained by a gap in active practitioners; while there are 95,456 registered doctors, only 60,551 hold active practicing licenses. The shortage is exacerbated by an uneven distribution of staff, particularly in northern states where doctor density remains low.