The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX®), administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), is the exam that aspiring nurses must pass to apply for licensure in a state board of nursing. Learn more about the 2022 NCLEX pass rate for both U.S. and International nursing students in today’s Osmosis blog.
Each year, the NCSBN releases statistics about the NCLEX pass rates, which show the number of candidates taking the NCLEX and the passing percentage broken down by the type of candidates (by educational degree level, if U.S.-educated or internationally educated, and if first-time or repeat candidates).
For U.S.-educated Candidates
The NCSBN recently published NCLEX statistics for 2022. This report showed that the number of first-time test takers in the United States increased from 185,062 in 2021 to 188,005 in 2022 (an increase of nearly 3,000 test-takers).

However, the pass rate dropped from 82.48% in 2021 to 79.90% in 2022. This means that, though more graduates took the test in 2022, less actually passed the exam on the first try than in 2021. Breaking down this information a bit further, the pass rate for graduates of each program type dropped in 2022 (79.53% to 78.31% for Diploma programs; 86.06% to 82.32% for Baccalaureate programs; 78.87 to 77.91% for Associate Degree programs).
Furthermore, the number of repeat U.S.-educated candidates increased from 55,192 to 69,715, while the passing percentage decreased from 45.52% to 43.74%.
For Internationally-Educated Candidates
The number of first-time, internationally-educated NCLEX-RN candidates increased from 18,495 in 2021 to 35,074 in 2022. The passing rate decreased from 46.68% to 43.18%.

Furthermore, the number of repeat internationally-educated candidates increased from 20.0664 to 28,762 with the passing percentage remaining unchanged at 27.75%.
The Philippines had the most internationally-educated NCLEX candidates with 18,617 in 2022, followed by India with 4,318 candidates, and Puerto Rico with 1,816 candidates.More people are choosing nursing as a career, and we think that is excellent news! To learn more about the NCLEX, download the free Osmosis Ultimate Guide to the NCLEX-RN.
About the Authors
Elizabeth Lucas, EdD, RN, CNE has been an RN since 2008 and has an Ed.D. with Emphasis in Nursing and Health Professions Education. Liz’s clinical background is in oncology, and she later transitioned into nursing academia where she taught in a pre-licensure nursing program for several years. Liz feels passionate about building a strong nursing workforce through increasing education accessibility and believes in the role of technology in that pursuit. At Osmosis, Liz manages the nursing assessment and scripting teams. Liz currently lives near Baltimore, MD with her husband, two sons, and dog.
Sherryl O. Castro, RN, OHN, graduated from the La Consolacion College Manila, Philippines, and is pursuing her MAN at the University of the Philippines Open University. She’s practiced in various nursing units, including the OR, Labor & Delivery, and PACU. At the onset of the pandemic, she took on the role of a Head Nurse and led her team in patient screening, health education, infection control, and management of isolated COVID-19 patients. She passed the NCLEX exam in 2022 using Osmosis as her primary resource. Sherryl is currently a Customer Experience Specialist at Osmosis, contributing to Content and Marketing initiatives since February 2020.
References
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2021)
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2021, December 31) 2021 NCLEX Pass Rates
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2022). NCLEX Quarterly Examination Statistics.
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). (2022). 2022 NCLEX Pass Rates
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NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc (NCSBN®). Osmosis is not affiliated with NCSBN.
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