Cyprus Health Observatory
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How many nurses are there?

Every public count of nurses, midwives, doctors and specialists in Cyprus, with what each one counts, its date and its source. Then our estimate, and why the figures differ.

Left nursing or midwifery? Tell us why.

Every public count

Nurses

CountWhat it countsSectorYearValue
Eurostat: practising nursesPractising: providing services directly to patients. Nurses (ISCO 2221 + 3221), excluding midwives; all sectors; headcount at 31 December.All sectors20245,057 people source
Eurostat: professionally active nursesProfessionally active: practising plus those whose job requires the qualification (management, teaching, research) Practising nurses plus nurses in posts that require the qualification.All sectors20245,359 people source
Eurostat: nurses licensed to practiseLicensed to practise, as reported to the Eurostat/OECD/WHO joint questionnaire. As reported by Cyprus to the joint questionnaire.All sectors20245,359 people source
Eurostat (historical): practising nursing professionalsPractising: providing services directly to patients. ISCO 2221 nursing professionals only (no associate professionals); series ends 2021.All sectors20194,690 people source
CYSTAT: nursing officers employed, all sectorsEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector. Nursing officers employed in the public and private sectors (CYSTAT health personnel table); health visitors counted separately.All sectors20245,657 people source
CYSTAT: nursing officers employed, public sectorEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector. Public sector only.Public20243,502 people source
CYSTAT: nursing officers employed, private sectorEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector. Private sector only.Private20242,155 people source
CYSTAT: public-sector nursing personnel (all categories)Employed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector. General, psychiatric nurses, health visitors and midwives in public medical institutions.Public20243,618 people source
CYSTAT: health visitors employedEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector. Community health visitors (a nursing specialism) - not inside the nursing-officer count.All sectors2024116 people source
WHO: nursing and midwifery personnel per 10,000Practising, expressed per 10,000 population (WHO) Nurses and midwives together; a density, not a headcount (WHO NHWA).All sectors202339.84 source
Stated: nurses on the Nursing and Midwifery Council registerOn the professional council's register (all licence holders, wherever they work) From official statements (change log); includes holders not practising in Cyprus.All sectors–Not published in a form we can read
Stated: nurses under 40 not renewing their licenceLicence holders who did not renew (stated count) Stated by the nursing council (Cyprus Mail, 15 Oct 2026); press report, primary not yet found.All sectors2026988 people source
Derived
Stated: licensed nurses not practising in CyprusLicence holders not practising in Cyprus (stated count) Stated by the nursing council (Cyprus Mail, 15 Oct 2026); press report, primary not yet found.All sectors20261,450 people source
Derived
Stated: nurses employed by OKYpY / public servicesEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector. From official statements (change log).Public20263,500 people source
Stated: nursing school enrolmentsEnrolled students (training pipeline) Reported as 98 in 2024 and 238 in 2025 (brief); stored only where a document states it.All sectors2026238 students source
Derived
Eurostat: nursing graduatesNew graduates in the year (training pipeline) New graduates in the year.All sectors202485 graduates source
Eurostat: foreign-trained nursesForeign-trained (stock in the year) Stock of nurses trained abroad.All sectors–Not published in a form we can read

Midwives

CountWhat it countsSectorYearValue
Eurostat: practising midwivesPractising: providing services directly to patientsAll sectors2024359 people source
Eurostat: midwives licensed to practiseLicensed to practise, as reported to the Eurostat/OECD/WHO joint questionnaireAll sectors2024369 people source
CYSTAT: midwives in public institutionsEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sectorPublic2024172 people source
CYSTAT: midwives in private clinicsEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sectorPrivate2024219 source

Doctors

CountWhat it countsSectorYearValue
Eurostat: practising physiciansPractising: providing services directly to patientsAll sectors20245,357 people source
Eurostat: professionally active physiciansProfessionally active: practising plus those whose job requires the qualification (management, teaching, research)All sectors20245,370 people source
Eurostat: physicians licensed to practiseLicensed to practise, as reported to the Eurostat/OECD/WHO joint questionnaireAll sectors20246,278 people source
CYSTAT: physicians, all sectorsEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sectorAll sectors20245,378 people source
CYSTAT: physicians, public sectorEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sectorPublic2024980 people source
WHO: medical doctors (number)Practising: providing services directly to patientsAll sectors20235,119 source
Stated: doctors on the Medical Council registerOn the professional council's register (all licence holders, wherever they work)All sectors–Not published in a form we can read

Specialists

CountWhat it countsSectorYearValue
CYSTAT: specialist medical practitionersEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sectorAll sectors20244,138 people source
CYSTAT: generalist medical practitionersEmployed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sectorAll sectors20241,240 people source
Eurostat: specialist physiciansPractising: providing services directly to patientsAll sectors20244,117 doctors source

Estimate: nurses practising and not practising

Observatory estimate (derived), not an official statistic.

Nurses practising · 2024
5,057 central estimate source

Range: 5,057 – 5,657 source

Built from

Nurses not practising in Cyprus · 2024
1,450 central estimate source
Licence or register holders who do not practise in Cyprus.

Range: 988 – 1,450 source

Built from

  • Cyprus reports the same number as 'licensed' and 'professionally active' to the joint questionnaire in this year, so that figure is not the register of all licence holders; the non-practising pool it implies is a lower bound.
  • The stated 988 nurses under 40 not renewing is a floor for the non-practising pool (it counts only under-40s).
  • The stated 1,450 licensed nurses not practising in Cyprus (press report, primary not yet found) is used as the central value when it is larger than licence holders minus practising.
  • The Nursing and Midwifery Council's register total is not published in a form the Observatory can read (gap line); with it the upper bound would tighten.

How it is worked out

The central figure for practising nurses is Eurostat's latest practising headcount. The range runs from the lowest to the highest all-sector count for the same year. The pool not practising compares licence holders with practising nurses and with figures stated in public, some of them only in the press.

Full method

Why the counts differ (written by AI from the table above)

Written by AI from the linked sources (EU AI Act 2024/1689, Art. 50). Each sentence links to its source.

Published nurse counts differ because they measure different things in different years. For 2024, Eurostat's practising figure is 5,057, meaning nurses providing services directly to patients 1. Its professionally active figure is 5,359, adding those whose job requires the qualification, such as management, teaching and research 2. The 5,359 licensed figure is identical, because Cyprus reports the same number for both in this year, so it is not the full register of licence holders 3. CYSTAT counts 5,657 nursing officers employed, a headcount of posts filled: 3,502 public 4 and 2,155 private 5. Public-sector nursing personnel of all categories number 3,618 6. The 2019 Eurostat practising figure was 4,690 7. The 2026 press-derived counts are 988 nurses under 40 not renewing 8 and 1,450 licensed nurses not practising in Cyprus 9. The Nursing and Midwifery Council register total is not available. The Observatory estimates practising nurses in 2024 at 5,057 centrally, within a band of 5,057 to 5,657 110. Non-practising nurses are estimated at 1,450, within a band of 988 to 1,450 98. The 988 is a floor because it covers only under-40s, and the licensed-based figure is a lower bound. The single missing figure that would narrow the estimate most is the Council's register total, which would tighten the upper bound.

Mid-size model (Sonnet class)

Why two counts differ

Eurostat: practising nurses: 5,057 people source · CYSTAT: nursing officers employed, all sectors: 5,657 people source

Difference: +600 (11.9%) source

What explains it

  1. Different definitions: 'Practising: providing services directly to patients' vs 'Employed (headcount of posts filled), by employer sector'. Employment counts filled posts (a person with two jobs may count twice; agency and self-employed staff may be missed), while the other counts people.
  2. Different producers and coverage: Nurses (ISCO 2221 + 3221), excluding midwives; all sectors; headcount at 31 December. / Nursing officers employed in the public and private sectors (CYSTAT health personnel table); health visitors counted separately.

Projection: supply and demand

Model output (derived), not a statistic. Supply is today's nurses, plus local graduates who start work, recruits from outside the EU and returners, minus those who leave or retire. Demand is today's number grown at the rate of GeSY activity, which assumes today's staffing meets today's demand.

Assumptions

Starting point
5,057 nurses practising in 2024
local graduates a year
78
demand growth a year
3.1% (based on GeSY patients seeing a specialist)
Years projected
10
Share of local graduates who start work
80%
Leaving each year
3%
Retiring each year
2%
Recruits from outside the EU each year
0
Returning to practice each year
0%
Share of leavers who keep their licence
50%
YearSupplyDemandSupply minus demand
20254,8675,213-346 model
20264,6865,373-688 model
20274,5145,539-1,025 model
20284,3505,710-1,359 model
20294,1955,885-1,690 model
20304,0486,067-2,019 model
20313,9086,254-2,346 model
20323,7756,446-2,671 model
20333,6496,645-2,996 model
20343,5296,850-3,321 model