Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian healthcare faced with shortage of 17,000 nurses

Photo: Archive

The Bulgarian Association of Health Care Professionals insists that the Bulgarian state should set a minimum number of nurses in each health care facility to ensure quality care for patients. The same proposal applies to midwives, rehabilitation workers, laboratory technicians and other specialists. 

According to a report by the Council for Economic Analysis of the Council of Ministers, there is a shortage of about 17 thousand nurses in Bulgaria, or 60% of the workforce in 2021. Thus, there is less than one nurse per doctor. However, if the normal ratio of 2:1 is to be reached, 29 thousand professionals need to enter the healthcare system. 

Figures from the same year show that 540 students graduate as nurses annually, while those leaving the jobs as nurses number 890. 

On International Nursing Day, the association is proposing that salaries be increased in line with the knowledge, skills and responsibilities in nursing teams to address the staffing crisis.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Warm and rainy across much of Bugaria

On Tuesday, overnight lows will range from 7°C to 12°C, rising to 12–16°C in eastern Bulgaria and around 9°C in Sofia. It will be a cloudy day with rain, mainly in the north and west of the country, which will continue into the night towards Wednesday...

published on 11/17/25 7:05 PM
Photo: National Seismological Center at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography - BAS

3.5-magnitute earthquake in the region of Blagoevgrad

According to data from the National Seismological Center at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography - BAS, at 16:48 an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.5 was recorded in the area of ​​the town of Simitli, near Blagoevgrad. The..

published on 11/17/25 6:00 PM

Homeless people in Sofia are the focus of a European study

There are significantly fewer homeless people in Sofia in comparison to major European cities. This is shown by data released today from an international study under an international project covering 35 European cities, funded by the European..

published on 11/17/25 5:44 PM