The Philippines is not a massively huge country like China, which has 1.4 billion people and 5.2 million nurses. In terms of population size, the Philippines ranks 14th globally, far behind the local behemoths of China, Indonesia and India.
With regard specifically to health care workers, a recent report stated that there are “approximately 400,000 registered nurses in the Philippines.” To the untrained ear, that seems like a big number – enough to provide the necessary health care for a much smaller nation.
On the other hand, when you look more closely at the numbers, there appears to be a serious shortage of nurses here in the Perlas ng Silanganan.
Look at it this way: There are almost 5 million registered nurses in the United States, which has a population of 344 million. That means that there is about one nurse for every 137 people in the United States – compared to one nurse for every 302 people here in the Philippines.
The number for Canada, which is noteworthy for its health care system, is about 80. In the United Kingdom, the number is 112.
This is a remarkable difference, and it’s not farfetched to conclude that this difference might have a measurable effect on the health of the Philippine nation. (See the Catanduanes Tribune, May 22, 2025.)
However, the actual number of nurses in the Philippines is hard to pin down. For example, in the Philippines, the number of nurses depends a lot on who you ask. The Philippine Nurses Association says there are 990,000 registered nurses, but the Professional Regulation Commission says that there are 951,000. The Department of Health, on the other hand, reports that there are 617,898 “registered and practicing nurses”.
One reason for the discrepancy is that there are RNs in the Philippines who are registered but not practicing. Another problem is that a significant number of nurses registered to practice in the Philippines are actually employed overseas – 316,000, according to 2021 report by the Philippine Nurses Association. The PNA figured that this number represented 51 percent of total qualified nurses at that time.
No matter which number you choose, there are still far fewer nurses per 10,000 population than there are in many other nations, and it appears that the Philippines is providing expensive training and professional services for other nations.
The Philippines has about 68 nursing schools, mostly in and around Manila, and they graduate approximately 80,000 nurses annually, but only 30,000 to 40,000 of the graduates pass the licensing exam on their first try. Locally, Catanduanes Province is fortunate in having one of the best nursing programs in the nation — at Catanduanes State University, which graduated 148 nurses last year and scored a 99.1 percent passing rate for first-time takers of the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination.
As for the high rates of emigration, it’s mainly a question of economics. Young Filipinos with medical training – nurses, doctors, medical technicians – emigrate for financial reasons. The biggest beneficiaries of this educated expatriate Filipino health care work force are the United States, Canada and the Middle East.
Aside from higher earnings, the motives for emigrating are better working conditions and opportunities for advanced training.
In the Philippines, the average monthly salary for a government employed entry level Nurse 1 is PHP35,000 PHP40,000, but the salary can be lower in the private sector, where salaries for entry level nurses are about PHP25,000.
By contrast, the entry-level salary for RNs in the United States is US$6,500 per month, or PHP364,000. That is a national average, but the number is much higher in California and New York. Salaries for specialty nurses — surgical or operating room nurses, trauma nurses, certified anesthetists — are remarkably higher still.
Getting certified to work overseas is complicated. To work as a nurse in the United States, for example, one must pass the NCLEX — the National Council Licensure Examination. It is not dissimilar from the PNLE.
However. one pitfall to working in the United States is being employed in a nursing home or a “continuing care retirement community”, where working conditions are poor and salaries are lower. There are at least 20,000 of these in the U.S.
As overseas workers, Filipinos are highly regarded worldwide for many reasons. Public opinion research reveals that overseas Filipino workers, or OFWs, have a strong work ethic, are proficient in English, have a global outlook and are highly trainable and adaptable to new situations. In addition, OFWs are viewed as having a positive attitude and good interpersonal skills.
The emigration of health care workers is a sensitive matter in government circles. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has recognized this problem by urging passage of the Nursing Practice Act of 2022, which aims to improve compensation and open up opportunities for advanced training. Approved by the House of Representatives, the proposal unfortunately is languishing in a senate committee.
By sending back remittances, some 2.16 million OFWs play a big role in the nation’s economy. Aside from health care workers, OFWs include construction laborers, maritime engineers and hospitality workers in hotels, restaurants and tourism. This is not to mention the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers employed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, among others.
With this huge overseas workforce, the amount of money sent back home by OFWs hit an all-time high last year, with US$38.34 billion in remittances – or PHP2.14 trillion. This is 8.3 percent of the Philippine nation’s economy.
On reflection, one cannot help but wonder if the Senate is dragging its feet on passage of the Nursing Practice Act for fear of — to borrow from Aesop’s Fables — “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
Bryce McIntyre, PhD, resides in San Andres. He holds a doctoral degree from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA