A total of 10,494 Nigerians are listed among staff in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). The data comes from NHS Million, a UK campaign organisation. Nigeria ranks sixth overall, behind the UK, India, the Philippines, Ireland and Poland. It is the largest African nationality on the list. Zimbabwe follows with 4,780, then Ghana with 3,395, Egypt with 2,895 and South Africa with 1,829.
Nigerian health workers have migrated to the UK for decades. The flow accelerated after the 2016 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK actively recruits from Nigeria and other Commonwealth countries to fill chronic shortages. In 2024, Nigeria approved a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration. Its implementation plan has been finalised but full implementation has not begun.
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report, from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, showed that over 20,000 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year. That included 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and 274 dentists. Nigeria has 95,456 registered doctors, but only 60,551 hold active practising licences.
The UK is a major destination. General Medical Council data shows 4,691 Nigerian trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026. In total, 15,896 Nigerian trained doctors are licensed to practise in the UK. The migration is not evenly felt. Northern states record particularly low doctor densities.
The government’s response has been slow. It trained an additional 23,000 frontline health workers in 2025, bringing the 2024 to 2025 total to 78,146, about 65% of the national target of 120,000. The retention problem remains. Better pay, conditions and career progression abroad continue to pull workers out.
Winners: The NHS, which fills gaps with trained Nigerian staff. Nigerian health workers, who earn higher wages and gain experience. The UK economy, which benefits from imported skills. Losers: Nigeria’s health system, which loses trained professionals. Patients in understaffed clinics, especially in the north. Nigerian taxpayers, who subsidise training for workers who leave. The National Policy on Health Workforce Migration, which exists largely on paper.
Bottom Line: Nigeria trains the doctors. The UK employs them. Until retention improves, the export will continue.