This indicator presents the number of nursing graduates in a given year. In response to concerns about current or anticipated shortages of nurses, many OECD countries have taken steps in recent years to expand the number of students in nursing education programmes. Increasing investment in nursing education is particularly important as the nursing workforce is ageing in many countries and the baby-boom generation of nurses approaches retirement. Nursing graduates refer to the number of students who have obtained a recognised qualification required to become a licensed or registered nurse. They include graduates from both higher level and lower level nursing programmes.They exclude graduates from Masters or PhD degrees in nursing to avoid double-counting nurses acquiring further qualifications. This indicator is measured per 100 000 inhabitants.