The Nova Scotia College of Nursing (NSCN) is committed to transparency and publicly sharing registration and licensure data.
This page contains statistics about nurses who have currently applied for registration and licensure and those who have become eligible for licensure with NSCN.
Nursing Workforce Data Reports
Each year, the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness creates a report containing a snapshot of the nursing workforce using data provided by the Nova Scotia College of Nursing. The following reports contain key metrics related to nursing supply in the province including inflow and outflow, total nurses employed, age distribution, and proportion of nurses employed by county.
Expedited Licensure Process for International Applicants from the Philippines, India, Nigeria, USA, UK, Australia, or New Zealand
In the Spring of 2023, NSCN implemented two expedited registration and licensure processes, establishing a fast and predictable pathway to licensure in Nova Scotia for registered nurses who demonstrate good standing and good character and are licensed elsewhere in Canada, or the Philippines, India, Nigeria, USA, UK, Australia, or New Zealand.
View our April 30, 2025 report.
Past Statistic Reports
Breakdown by Licence Type
Current (Since November 1, 2024)
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Direct International Registration and Licensing (DIRL) Project Evaluation Report
Formal evaluations of the expedited licensure process for those who were licensed since May 1, 2023 began in the fall of 2023 and will take place over a period of 24 months, at six month intervals, until May 2025. The data is collected through various sources including an online survey, the NSCN website analytics, the NSCN practice database, a Verification of Registration Request Tracking tool, the NSCN registrant portal, and through the Nova Scotia Health Learning Institute for Health Care Providers.
Please see highlights of our interim reports below.