The nursing and midwifery workforce is now bigger and more diverse than ever, but these trends are tempered by a worrying decline in new joiners, latest data from the UK register reveals. While the increased diversity of the workforce has been welcomed, the data has also revealed a concerning slowdown in the growth of the NMC register overall. In 2025-26, 10,961 internationally educated nurses and midwives joined the NMC register, which was 9,708 (47%) fewer than the previous year. At the same time, the UK pipeline of nursing and midwifery professionals has also dried up but to a lesser extent. The NMC itself called on employers across the UK to embed its new anti-racism principles for midwifery and nursing education and practice.