Objectives: Our aim was to examine the numbers of practising nurses in European OECD countries.

Methods: Indicators analysed regarding numbers of practising nurses and total hospital beds were derived from the ’OECD Health Statistics 2021’ online database, for the period 2000-2018. 24 European OECD countries were grouped and compared according to geographical location (Eastern European countries versus Western European countries). The comparison was focused especially on years 2000, 2010 and 2018. Data were calculated for 100,000 population and 100 hospital beds.

Results: The average number of practising nurses per 100,000 population increased from 786.0 to 1,018.3 (+30%) in Western European countries, and from 636.2 to 787.0 (+24%) in Eastern European countries between 2000-2018. As for Western Europe, this number was the highest in Switzerland in 2000 (1,159) and in Norway in 2018 (1,771). Regarding Eastern Europe, the highest number was reported by Lithuania in 2000 (763) and by Slovenia in 2018 (1,014). Between 2000 and 2018, the average number of practising nurses per 100 hospital beds increased from 149.5 to 281.0 (+88%) in Western European countries and from 91.7 to 142.5 (+55%) in Eastern European countries. As for Western Europe, this number was the highest in Sweden also in 2000 (268.9) and 2018 (508.8). Regarding Eastern Europe, the highest number was reported by Slovenia also in 2000 (126.9) and 2018 (229.0). Per 100,000 population, we found significant difference in the cross-sectional year 2010 (p=0.029). Per 100 hospital beds, we obtained significant differences in 2010 (p=0.004) and 2018 (p=0.012) cross-sectional years.

Conclusions: We found that the average number of practising nurses per 100,000 population increased from 729.8 to 950.2 (+30%) and from 128.9 to 240.3 (+86%) per 100 hospital beds in the European OECD countries examined.