Teacher Compensation as a Share of Public Education Expenditure by Country
Teaching staff compensation is the share of total current and capital expenditure in public primary and secondary educational institutions used for teachers, teaching assistants, employer retirement contributions and other employment benefits. The comparison uses a common 2021 reference year and keeps teaching staff separate from non-teaching personnel whenever the source provides that split.
Coverage and Reported Values
Country ranks apply only to systems with a separately reported teaching-staff component. Aggregates are reference values rather than ranked systems.
Teaching Staff Compensation Ranking
The visual summary covers the 15 highest separately reported shares. The searchable table retains every country and economy in the OECD comparison.
Highest Separately Reported Shares in 2021
Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total current and capital expenditure in public primary and secondary institutions
Values are digitized from OECD Figure 2 and rounded to one decimal point. Twelve additional systems report staff compensation without a teaching/non-teaching split and are not placed in the teaching-share rank.
Chart analysis
- Portugal records the highest separately reported share at 77.6%, followed by Mexico at 76.9%.
- Costa Rica and Romania also exceed 74%, at 74.8% and 74.6%.
- Türkiye reports 72.4%, while Spain reports 70.7%.
- The 15th value in the chart is Italy at 60.2%, equal to the median after rounding.
- Portugal stands 19.6 percentage points above the OECD reference average of 58.0%.
Country and Economy Expenditure Composition
Rank is based on the teaching-staff share among 29 systems with a separate personnel split. A dash in the rank column marks systems where only combined staff compensation is available.
| Rank | Country or economy | Teaching staff | Non-teaching staff | Staff total, unsplit | Other current | Capital | Year | Reporting status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 77.6% | 6.1% | — | 13.1% | 3.1% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 2 | Mexico | 76.9% | 12.0% | — | 9.4% | 1.8% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 74.8% | 1.9% | — | 22.1% | 1.2% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 4 | Romania | 74.6% | 0.0% | — | 20.4% | 5.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 5 | Türkiye | 72.4% | 5.4% | — | 14.2% | 8.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 6 | Spain | 70.7% | 8.2% | — | 17.7% | 3.3% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 7 | South Africa | 67.0% | 9.6% | — | 20.3% | 3.1% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 8 | Bulgaria | 65.3% | 13.3% | — | 16.7% | 4.7% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 64.8% | 8.0% | — | 15.1% | 12.1% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 10 | Switzerland | 63.8% | 13.7% | — | 13.0% | 9.5% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 11 | Belgium | 63.5% | 22.1% | — | 10.4% | 4.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 63.4% | 10.5% | — | 18.0% | 8.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 13 | Austria | 61.2% | 8.5% | — | 25.2% | 5.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 14 | Canada | 60.9% | 13.2% | — | 16.8% | 9.1% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 15 | Italy | 60.2% | 15.9% | — | 19.9% | 4.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 16 | Argentina | 57.7% | 31.1% | — | 7.5% | 3.6% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 17 | France | 54.7% | 19.8% | — | 16.6% | 9.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 18 | Ireland | 54.3% | 10.0% | — | 25.6% | 10.1% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 19 | Australia | 54.0% | 16.0% | — | 19.2% | 10.8% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 20 | Slovak Republic | 53.6% | 15.7% | — | 26.5% | 4.2% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 21 | Lithuania | 52.0% | 22.5% | — | 18.9% | 6.7% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 22 | Sweden | 51.6% | 14.0% | — | 27.6% | 6.9% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 23 | Iceland | 51.2% | 19.8% | — | 23.1% | 5.8% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 24 | United States | 48.0% | 24.5% | — | 17.4% | 10.1% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 25 | Korea | 47.0% | 16.6% | — | 19.2% | 17.3% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 26 | Chile | 46.5% | 30.7% | — | 17.9% | 4.9% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 27 | Finland | 43.9% | 9.8% | — | 33.5% | 12.8% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 28 | Czechia | 42.7% | 18.3% | — | 30.9% | 8.0% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| 29 | Estonia | 41.7% | 21.8% | — | 22.1% | 14.5% | 2021 | Separate teaching and non-teaching split |
| — | Brazil | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 74.6% | 20.6% | 4.8% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Croatia | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 79.7% | 16.3% | 4.1% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Denmark | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 75.9% | 16.6% | 7.5% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Germany | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 74.3% | 16.5% | 9.3% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Hungary | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 74.2% | 18.3% | 7.5% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Israel | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 75.8% | 13.5% | 10.6% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Japan | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 71.1% | 16.3% | 12.6% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Latvia | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 69.1% | 17.4% | 13.5% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | New Zealand | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 69.7% | 16.3% | 14.1% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Norway | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 69.8% | 15.8% | 14.4% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Poland | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 72.2% | 22.9% | 4.9% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
| — | Slovenia | Not separately reported | Not separately reported | 78.5% | 14.6% | 6.9% | 2021 | Staff compensation reported without split |
Table analysis
- 29 systems report teaching and non-teaching compensation separately; 12 systems report staff compensation only as a combined total.
- Among separate reporters, 15 values exceed the OECD average of 58.0% and 14 fall below it.
- The lowest separately reported group consists of Estonia at 41.7%, Czechia at 42.7% and Finland at 43.9%.
- Chile combines a teaching share of 46.5% with a non-teaching staff share of 30.7%.
- Finland assigns 33.5% to current expenditure other than staff compensation, the largest such share in the displayed country set.
- Estonia records 14.5% capital expenditure, while Korea records 17.3%.
- Croatia, Slovenia, Denmark, Israel, Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Japan, Norway, New Zealand and Latvia cannot be ranked by teaching compensation because their staff totals are not divided by personnel type in the source figure.
- Component totals can equal 99.9% or 100.1% because values are displayed to one decimal point.
How the Institutional Budget Is Divided
Teaching compensation occupies one part of a broader expenditure mix that also includes other personnel, operating costs and capital investment.
Selected Expenditure Compositions
Teaching staff, non-teaching staff, other current expenditure and capital expenditure as shares of the 2021 total
Selected systems show different expenditure mixes at the same education levels and reference year. Minor total differences reflect rounding.
Spending analysis
- The OECD reference composition is 58.0% teaching staff, 14.7% non-teaching staff, 18.9% other current expenditure and 8.3% capital expenditure.
- The EU25 aggregate is close on teaching staff at 58.3%, with 20.1% assigned to other current expenditure.
- Portugal and Mexico devote more than three-quarters of the total to teaching staff compensation.
- The United States reports 48.0% for teaching staff and 24.5% for non-teaching staff.
- Estonia reports 41.7% for teaching staff, 21.8% for non-teaching staff, 22.1% for other current expenditure and 14.5% for capital expenditure.
- Finland reports 43.9% for teaching staff and 33.5% for other current expenditure.
OECD Average by Education Level
Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of expenditure in public institutions, 2021
Primary, lower secondary and upper secondary averages remain close; tertiary institutions have a wider mix of research, infrastructure and student-service expenditure.
Chart analysis
- The OECD averages are 58% in primary, 59% in lower secondary and 57% in upper secondary education.
- The three school-level averages fall within a range of only 2 percentage points.
- The tertiary average is 34%, 24 points below primary and 25 points below lower secondary.
- The OECD report identifies particularly low tertiary shares in Luxembourg at 8%, Estonia at 22%, and Korea and South Africa at 23%.
Primary Education Change, 2015-2021
The official briefing provides exact start and end values for two increases. These primary-only observations are shown separately from the combined primary-and-secondary comparison.
Two Reported Primary-Education Increases
Teaching staff compensation share in public primary institutions
The historical scope is primary education only. It should not be read as a continuation of the combined primary-and-secondary ranking.
| Country | 2015 | 2021 | Change | Education scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 68% | 76% | +8 pp | Public primary institutions |
| Slovak Republic | 52% | 56% | +4 pp | Public primary institutions |
Trend analysis
- Costa Rica rises from 68% to 76%, an increase of 8 percentage points.
- The Slovak Republic rises from 52% to 56%, an increase of 4 percentage points.
- Across the wider 25-system primary-education comparison discussed by OECD, 15 systems changed by less than 3 percentage points between 2015 and 2021.
- Exact country values for the full 25-system historical set are not reproduced in the briefing, so no additional historical values are inferred.
Interpreting the Compensation Share
The indicator describes budget composition. It does not establish the level of an individual teacher’s salary or the adequacy of the education budget.
What counts as teaching staff
Personnel directly involved in instruction, including teachers and teaching assistants. A school leader who teaches part of the working week may be divided proportionally between teaching and non-teaching functions.
What counts as compensation
Gross salaries, employer or public-authority retirement contributions and non-salary benefits such as health coverage. The measure is broader than base salary.
What the denominator covers
Total current and capital expenditure in public educational institutions for the stated levels. It is not the same as all government education spending, GDP share or spending per student.
Why a high share can occur
Teaching costs may be high relative to the budget, or non-salary and capital expenditure may be limited. A high percentage does not by itself show high teacher pay.
Why a low share can occur
Capital projects, learning materials, administration, support services or non-teaching personnel may occupy more of the denominator. A low percentage does not by itself show low teacher pay.
Why reporting status matters
A combined staff total cannot reveal how expenditure is divided between instructional and non-instructional personnel. Such systems remain in the composition table but outside the teaching-share rank.
Calculation
Teaching staff compensation share = teaching staff compensation ÷ total current and capital expenditure in public institutions × 100.
With 60 budget units assigned to teaching staff and 40 assigned elsewhere, the share is 60%. A 10% increase in teaching compensation raises that component to 66 units. Preserving the other 40 units requires a total budget of 106 units, producing a new teaching share of 62.3%.
| Teaching compensation | Total expenditure | Share movement | Interpretation boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unchanged | Rises | Falls | Teacher pay can be unchanged while the ratio declines |
| Unchanged | Falls | Rises | The ratio can rise without a pay increase |
| Rises more slowly | Rises faster | Falls | A falling share can coexist with higher compensation |
| Rises faster | Rises more slowly | Rises | The ratio reflects relative growth, not salary level alone |
| Falls | Other expenditure falls faster | Can rise | A higher share can coexist with lower teaching expenditure |
Data analysis
- The numerator and denominator can move in different directions, so a change in the percentage does not identify which budget component changed.
- Class size, student instruction time, teacher teaching hours, staffing levels, pension treatment and the scale of capital projects can all affect the reported share.
- Nominal salary comparisons, purchasing-power comparisons and compensation shares require separate indicators.
An all-staff compensation indicator combines teaching and non-teaching personnel. Substituting that measure for teaching staff compensation changes the numerator and can alter country positions.
Source and Methodology
The country composition values are page-level extractions from the vector bars in OECD Figure 2 and are rounded to one decimal percentage point. No missing teaching/non-teaching split is estimated. Ranks use only the separately reported teaching component. The OECD average and EU25 average are also extracted from the same figure. Historical values reproduce exact figures stated in the OECD briefing; no unreported years are filled. The UIS indicator family confirms that teaching staff, non-teaching staff, other current expenditure and capital expenditure are distinct expenditure-by-nature measures.
The ranking is limited to the 29 systems with a separate teaching-staff component in the OECD 2021 public primary-and-secondary comparison. It does not measure individual salaries, purchasing power, total national education effort, teacher supply, class size, learning outcomes or fiscal sustainability. Pension accounting, the classification of school leaders and support personnel, central and local government coverage, institutional boundaries and capital-investment cycles can affect comparability. Combined all-staff values must not be interpreted as teaching-staff values.