In the year 2012, there were 24.262 practising nurses in health care system in the Republic of Croatia, of whom 82% (19.874) had a secondary (high-school) education and 18% (4.388) nurses with a baccalaureate and master of nursing university degrees. In addition there were 5.881 nurses working with a non-permanent contract. Details about the number of nurses in Croatia are collected by the Croatian Institute of Public Health, which is responsible for official statistics, and the Croatian Chamber of Nurses. In the annual reports, the Croatian Institute of Public Health submits data on the number of nurses for a common database of three international organizations: OECD / Eurostat / WHO. Out of the total number of health workers, 43% are nurses, of whom nearly two thirds (15.571) were employed in the hospital sector, the majority of them work in the university hospitals (8.155) and general hospitals (5.648). Of the total number of nurses, 91% (22,007) are female. More then 50% of the nurses (12.969) are in the age of 45 or over. According to the census of 2011 in the Republic of Croatia there were 4,284,889 inhabitants. The number of nurses, in Croatia per 100.000 population in 2011 was 579, less then EU’s average, which in the same year was 836 nurses per 100.000 population. The nurses to physicians ratio in the Republic of Croatia in 2011 and 2012 was 2,04, and 1.89 respectively.