How the job of a teacher compares around the world


Helsinki, Finland.
Helsinki, Finland. Photograph: Hemis / Alamy/Alamy

There has long been a fascination with comparing the UK’s teaching system with what’s in place elsewhere in the world.

Everyone from Ofsted chief Michael Wilshaw to the former education secretary Michael Gove have expressed admiration for Singapore’s education system, where young pupils achieve highly in maths.

Research has now found that the education system in Finland offers the best value for money, with teachers achieving high Pisa scores, despite getting moderate salaries and teaching relatively large classes.

The study of 30 OECD member nations by Gems Education Solutions, compared government average spends on teaching, which makes up 80% of most education budgets, with pupil results in Pisa tests assessing the reading, maths and science skills of 15 year olds.

Finland was ranked first, followed by Korea, the Czech Republic and Hungary, in terms of efficiency. Brazil and Indonesia’s education systems provided the least value for money, the study found.

The report also found that the UK would need to increase the number of pupils to every one teacher in school and cut salaries around by nearly 10% to match Finland’s Pisa scores. However, the study’s authors did not advise making these changes, noting that other cultural factors should be taken into consideration such as family attitudes towards education.

Given the various reports available, we have put together some data to explore how the job of a teacher varies around the world.

Where is teacher pay highest?

Of the 30 OECD member countries, teachers in Switzerland get the highest annual salary, an average of $68,000 (£41,000). This is higher than the average salary in the country, which is around $50,000 (£30,000). Switzerland is followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium in terms of having highly paid teachers.

Comparatively, teachers in the UK earn less than the annual UK average of $44,000 (£27,000), receiving just over $40,000 (£24,000) and ranked 13 out of the 30 countries listed. Teachers get paid more in the UK than other European countries. In France, for example, the average teacher salary is $33,000, and in Greece teachers earn an average of $25,000.

Which country has the most teachers per school?

In Brazil there are an average of 32 pupils to every one teacher, compared to Portugal where there are just seven. Norway and Greece also have relatively small classes, with the UK ranked 14 on the list in terms of having the highest number of pupils to teachers.

In the UK Gems research showed that if the government wants to reach the educational efficiency of Finland they could increase the numbers of pupils in school from an average of 13 to 16.

Where do teachers get the greatest respect?

Last year a report showed that teachers in China get the greatest respect. The UK and the US ranked in the middle of the Global Teacher Status Index, lower down than South Korea and Greece where teachers were more valued.

Israel was ranked lowest in the survey of 21 OECD countries. In each country 1,000 people were asked questions such as whether they thought teacher earning were fair and whether they’d encourage their children to become teachers.

Pessimism about how respected teachers were by students was highest in Europe compared to Asia. In China 75% of those who took the survey said they thought teachers were respected by their students.

Do UK teachers work long hours?

The Teaching and Learning International survey found that teachers in England work an average of 46 hours per week in term time, eight hours more than the international of 38 hours. UK teachers spend less time in class and more time taken up on other tasks. Finnish teachers tend to have 32 hour working weeks and in Italy they only work 29 hours per week.

More teacher facts

  • The UN estimates 8 million extra teachers are needed worldwide by 2015.
  • Secondary school teachers in the UK are expected to be working 39 hours in an average week – MPs are expected to work 40-hours weeks.
  • International figures show 68% of teachers are women and the average teacher age is 48.
  • The average working week of a teacher is 38 hours, but in Japan – where teachers work the longest week – they clock up 54 hours.
