During 2023, 83,538 professionals were registered with the Order of Nurses, of which 70.7% were general nurses and 29.3% were specialists, divided into rehabilitation nursing and medical-surgical nursing.

According to the INE, the number of nurses per inhabitant has been “continuously increasing” since 1999.

The Coimbra and Terras de Trás-os-Montes regions had the highest number of nurses per thousand inhabitants in the year in question: 15.2 and 11.6, respectively.

Almost 50,000 nurses were working in hospitals (59.6%), of which 88.3% were in public or PPP hospitals and 11.7% were in private hospitals.

According to the INE, 69% of nurses working in Portugal in 2023 were between 31 and 60 years old and just over a fifth were under 31 years old.

“The male ratio was 20.9 nurses per 100 nurses. Around 12% of male professionals were over 60 years old, while, among nurses, this proportion fell to 9%”, highlighted the IBGE.