Overview
- The Consejo General de Enfermería's 'Informe de ratios 2025', published July 1, 2026, reports Spain has 6.45 nurses per 1,000 people, well under the EU average of 8.12 and equivalent to a gap of roughly 100,000 nurses.
- The national shortfall is already producing operational strain this summer as colleges of nursing warn of problems covering vacations and substitutions and some hospitals have suspended procedures because of nursing shortages.
- Regional data in the report show stark inequality: Galicia ranks second‑worst among autonomous communities at 5.33 nurses per 1,000 and would need about 7,612 hires to reach the EU ratio, while the province of Pontevedra has the lowest provincial rate at 4.08 per 1,000.
- Nursing leaders cite structural drivers including mass retirements, an ageing population with more chronic care needs, low domestic recruitment and outward migration to countries with better conditions, and they say recent regional hires fall far short of meeting demand.
- The CGE notes the EU average has fallen for a second year, signaling a broader regional trend that could push more Spanish nurses to seek work abroad and that will require coordinated national workforce planning to protect care access and quality.