Education statistics / Teacher availability
Student-Teacher Ratio by Country 2026: Statistics, Charts & Rankings
Country ranking based on the World Bank WDI indicator pupil-teacher ratio, primary. The 2026 title year refers to publication context; table values use each country’s latest reported source year.
Student-Teacher Ratio Statistics
Latest available country values are ranked from highest reported primary pupil-teacher ratio to lowest reported ratio.
Highest reported value
83.41
Central African Republic, 2016
Lowest reported value
6.93
San Marino, 2018
Median reported value
18.9
WDI country distribution summary
Mean reported value
22.8
WDI country distribution summary
Highest Reported Primary Pupil-Teacher Ratios
Top 20 countries/economies by latest reported WDI value.
The chart is a visual summary only. The full ranking table below carries the country-level data used for the page.
Chart analysis
- Central African Republic has the highest latest reported value in the ranking at 83.41 pupils per teacher.
- The top 10 reported values are all above 48 pupils per teacher.
- The top 20 countries/economies range from 83.41 to 41.70 pupils per teacher.
- Most of the highest reported values in this visual summary are from source years between 2015 and 2018.
Full Country Ranking Table
Ranking covers countries/economies with available latest WDI values for primary pupil-teacher ratio.
| Rank | Country / Economy | Code | Ratio | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central African Republic | CAF | 83.41 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 2 | Rwanda | RWA | 59.51 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 3 | Malawi | MWI | 58.68 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 4 | Chad | TCD | 56.89 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 5 | Mozambique | MOZ | 55.27 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 6 | Ethiopia | ETH | 55.07 | 2011 | World Bank WDI |
| 7 | Guinea-Bissau | GNB | 51.93 | 2010 | World Bank WDI |
| 8 | Tanzania | TZA | 50.63 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 9 | Angola | AGO | 50.03 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 10 | Afghanistan | AFG | 48.79 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 11 | Guinea | GIN | 47.15 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 12 | South Sudan | SSD | 46.75 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 13 | Cameroon | CMR | 44.83 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 14 | Congo, Rep. | COG | 44.44 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 15 | Pakistan | PAK | 44.08 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 16 | Uganda | UGA | 42.66 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 17 | Burundi | BDI | 42.52 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 18 | Zambia | ZMB | 42.06 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 19 | Cote d’Ivoire | CIV | 41.82 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 20 | Cambodia | KHM | 41.70 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 21 | Nauru | NRU | 40.18 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 22 | Togo | TGO | 40.15 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 23 | Madagascar | MDG | 39.81 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 24 | Burkina Faso | BFA | 39.72 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 25 | Benin | BEN | 39.20 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 26 | Eritrea | ERI | 38.74 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 27 | Mali | MLI | 37.83 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 28 | Nigeria | NGA | 37.55 | 2010 | World Bank WDI |
| 29 | Zimbabwe | ZWE | 36.41 | 2013 | World Bank WDI |
| 30 | Niger | NER | 36.34 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 31 | Senegal | SEN | 36.32 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 32 | Gambia, The | GMB | 36.14 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 33 | Papua New Guinea | PNG | 35.52 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 34 | Somalia, Fed. Rep. | SOM | 35.52 | 2007 | World Bank WDI |
| 35 | Bhutan | BTN | 34.67 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 36 | Mauritania | MRT | 34.28 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 37 | Haiti | HTI | 33.41 | 1998 | World Bank WDI |
| 38 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | COD | 33.20 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 39 | Lesotho | LSO | 32.95 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 40 | India | IND | 32.75 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 41 | Sao Tome and Principe | STP | 31.16 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 42 | Kenya | KEN | 30.65 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 43 | Mongolia | MNG | 30.38 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 44 | South Africa | ZAF | 30.33 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 45 | Samoa | WSM | 30.24 | 2010 | World Bank WDI |
| 46 | Nicaragua | NIC | 30.22 | 2010 | World Bank WDI |
| 47 | Bangladesh | BGD | 30.05 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 48 | Djibouti | DJI | 29.37 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 49 | Philippines | PHL | 29.08 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 50 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | IRN | 28.52 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 51 | Comoros | COM | 28.06 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 52 | Fiji | FJI | 28.00 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 53 | Sierra Leone | SLE | 27.52 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 54 | Ghana | GHA | 26.99 | 2019 | World Bank WDI |
| 55 | Timor-Leste | TLS | 26.95 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 56 | Yemen, Rep. | YEM | 26.93 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 57 | El Salvador | SLV | 26.89 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 58 | Morocco | MAR | 26.80 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 59 | Eswatini | SWZ | 26.60 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 60 | Vanuatu | VUT | 26.57 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 61 | Mexico | MEX | 26.55 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 62 | Venezuela, RB | VEN | 25.68 | 1987 | World Bank WDI |
| 63 | Honduras | HND | 25.60 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 64 | Kiribati | KIR | 25.49 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 65 | Solomon Islands | SLB | 25.41 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 66 | Syrian Arab Republic | SYR | 25.33 | 2002 | World Bank WDI |
| 67 | Namibia | NAM | 25.09 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 68 | Kyrgyz Republic | KGZ | 24.99 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 69 | Jamaica | JAM | 24.79 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 70 | Gabon | GAB | 24.53 | 2011 | World Bank WDI |
| 71 | United Arab Emirates | ARE | 24.52 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 72 | West Bank and Gaza | PSE | 24.45 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 73 | Myanmar | MMR | 24.36 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 74 | Algeria | DZA | 24.32 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 75 | Ecuador | ECU | 24.26 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 76 | Paraguay | PRY | 24.16 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 77 | Botswana | BWA | 23.71 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 78 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | EGY | 23.68 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 79 | Colombia | COL | 23.30 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 80 | Equatorial Guinea | GNQ | 23.23 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 81 | Guyana | GUY | 23.16 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 82 | Lao PDR | LAO | 22.34 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 83 | Liberia | LBR | 22.32 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 84 | Tajikistan | TJK | 22.30 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 85 | Panama | PAN | 21.96 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 86 | Sri Lanka | LKA | 21.74 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 87 | Tonga | TON | 21.63 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 88 | Uzbekistan | UZB | 21.51 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 89 | Russian Federation | RUS | 21.26 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 90 | Cabo Verde | CPV | 21.07 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 91 | New Caledonia | NCL | 20.37 | 1991 | World Bank WDI |
| 92 | Korea, Dem. People’s Rep. | PRK | 20.30 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 93 | Viet Nam | VNM | 20.28 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 94 | Guatemala | GTM | 20.26 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 95 | Brazil | BRA | 20.22 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 96 | Guam | GUM | 20.02 | 1989 | World Bank WDI |
| 97 | Belize | BLZ | 19.78 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 98 | Nepal | NPL | 19.74 | 2019 | World Bank WDI |
| 99 | Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | FSM | 19.71 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 100 | Bahamas, The | BHS | 19.45 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 101 | Romania | ROU | 19.33 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 102 | Belarus | BLR | 19.23 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 103 | Czechia | CZE | 18.93 | 2013 | World Bank WDI |
| 104 | Dominican Republic | DOM | 18.92 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 105 | Jordan | JOR | 18.54 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 106 | France | FRA | 18.18 | 2013 | World Bank WDI |
| 107 | Moldova | MDA | 17.92 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 108 | Australia | AUS | 17.88 | 1999 | World Bank WDI |
| 109 | Bolivia | BOL | 17.80 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 110 | Chile | CHL | 17.79 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 111 | Turks and Caicos Islands | TCA | 17.69 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 112 | Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | 17.58 | 2009 | World Bank WDI |
| 113 | Albania | ALB | 17.57 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 114 | Canada | CAN | 17.42 | 2000 | World Bank WDI |
| 115 | Peru | PER | 17.39 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 116 | Argentina | ARG | 17.23 | 2008 | World Bank WDI |
| 117 | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 17.21 | 2019 | World Bank WDI |
| 118 | Indonesia | IDN | 17.03 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 119 | Turkiye | TUR | 16.98 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 120 | Iraq | IRQ | 16.96 | 2007 | World Bank WDI |
| 121 | Marshall Islands | MHL | 16.94 | 2002 | World Bank WDI |
| 122 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BIH | 16.93 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 123 | Libya | LBY | 16.90 | 1983 | World Bank WDI |
| 124 | Tunisia | TUN | 16.87 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 125 | Thailand | THA | 16.64 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 126 | China | CHN | 16.43 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 127 | Grenada | GRD | 16.35 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 128 | Korea, Rep. | KOR | 16.29 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 129 | Mauritius | MUS | 16.20 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 130 | Ireland | IRL | 16.06 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 131 | Cayman Islands | CYM | 15.75 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 132 | Palau | PLW | 15.66 | 2000 | World Bank WDI |
| 133 | Japan | JPN | 15.66 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 134 | Tuvalu | TUV | 15.58 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 135 | Slovak Republic | SVK | 15.54 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 136 | Azerbaijan | AZE | 15.43 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 137 | Armenia | ARM | 15.42 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 138 | Bulgaria | BGR | 15.21 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 139 | United Kingdom | GBR | 15.13 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 140 | American Samoa | ASM | 15.05 | 1992 | World Bank WDI |
| 141 | New Zealand | NZL | 14.92 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 142 | North Macedonia | MKD | 14.91 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 143 | Aruba | ABW | 14.79 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 144 | St. Lucia | LCA | 14.74 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 145 | Singapore | SGP | 14.69 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 146 | Seychelles | SYC | 14.49 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 147 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | VCT | 14.39 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 148 | French Polynesia | PYF | 14.33 | 1996 | World Bank WDI |
| 149 | Serbia | SRB | 14.29 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 150 | United States | USA | 14.20 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 151 | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | VIR | 14.19 | 1993 | World Bank WDI |
| 152 | Gibraltar | GIB | 14.17 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 153 | Barbados | BRB | 13.99 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 154 | St. Kitts and Nevis | KNA | 13.87 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 155 | Saudi Arabia | SAU | 13.81 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 156 | Slovenia | SVN | 13.80 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 157 | Finland | FIN | 13.67 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 158 | Puerto Rico (US) | PRI | 13.54 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 159 | Lithuania | LTU | 13.52 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 160 | Croatia | HRV | 13.51 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 161 | Macao SAR, China | MAC | 13.50 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 162 | Suriname | SUR | 13.39 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 163 | Hong Kong SAR, China | HKG | 13.35 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 164 | Spain | ESP | 13.13 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 165 | Dominica | DMA | 13.08 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 166 | Ukraine | UKR | 12.98 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 167 | Malta | MLT | 12.94 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 168 | Lebanon | LBN | 12.48 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 169 | Antigua and Barbuda | ATG | 12.41 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 170 | Portugal | PRT | 12.35 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 171 | Germany | DEU | 12.30 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 172 | Sweden | SWE | 12.23 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 173 | Costa Rica | CRI | 12.20 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 174 | Qatar | QAT | 12.17 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 175 | Israel | ISR | 12.07 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 176 | Cyprus | CYP | 12.04 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 177 | Bahrain | BHR | 11.92 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 178 | Netherlands | NLD | 11.81 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 179 | Monaco | MCO | 11.70 | 2019 | World Bank WDI |
| 180 | Malaysia | MYS | 11.66 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 181 | British Virgin Islands | VGB | 11.62 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 182 | Latvia | LVA | 11.54 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 183 | Italy | ITA | 11.48 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 184 | Estonia | EST | 11.31 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 185 | Belgium | BEL | 11.28 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 186 | Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | SXM | 11.27 | 2012 | World Bank WDI |
| 187 | Uruguay | URY | 11.02 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 188 | Hungary | HUN | 10.77 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 189 | Denmark | DNK | 10.74 | 2014 | World Bank WDI |
| 190 | Andorra | AND | 10.50 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 191 | Bermuda | BMU | 10.42 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 192 | Poland | POL | 10.18 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 193 | Maldives | MDV | 10.16 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 194 | Iceland | ISL | 10.14 | 2015 | World Bank WDI |
| 195 | Austria | AUT | 10.02 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 196 | Switzerland | CHE | 9.93 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 197 | Brunei Darussalam | BRN | 9.90 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 198 | Oman | OMN | 9.67 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 199 | Greece | GRC | 9.38 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 200 | Cuba | CUB | 9.16 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 201 | Georgia | GEO | 8.98 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 202 | Kuwait | KWT | 8.88 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
| 203 | Norway | NOR | 8.59 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 204 | Luxembourg | LUX | 8.30 | 2016 | World Bank WDI |
| 205 | Liechtenstein | LIE | 7.80 | 2017 | World Bank WDI |
| 206 | San Marino | SMR | 6.93 | 2018 | World Bank WDI |
Table analysis
- The full ranking includes 206 countries/economies with latest available WDI values.
- The spread between the highest and lowest reported values is 76.48 pupils per teacher.
- Ghana, Nepal, Kazakhstan, and Monaco have source year 2019 values in this extract.
- Several latest values are older than 2010, including Libya, Venezuela, RB, Guam, and New Caledonia.
- The table ranks the reported ratio only; it does not rank education quality, learning outcomes, teacher pay, or class size.
Distribution Benchmarks
Country distribution summary for latest reported WDI values.
Reported Ratio Distribution
Benchmark values from the WDI country distribution summary.
The mean is higher than the median because high-ratio country values pull the average upward.
Distribution analysis
- The median reported value is 18.9 pupils per teacher.
- The 25th to 75th percentile range runs from 13.8 to 28.0.
- The mean value of 22.8 sits above the median, reflecting the upper tail of high-ratio country values.
| Data point | Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Indicator code | SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS | World Bank WDI primary pupil-teacher ratio indicator. |
| Source series range | 1970-2019 | Annual source series range reported for the WDI indicator. |
| Embedded ranking basis | Latest available country value | Each country is ranked by its latest reported value, not by a single common reference year. |
| Highest value in table | 83.41 | Central African Republic, 2016. |
| Lowest value in table | 6.93 | San Marino, 2018. |
Source-year analysis
- The WDI series is annual, but the embedded ranking uses latest reported country values.
- Countries do not share one common source year; the table keeps the year visible for each row.
- No country-level trend change is calculated in the embedded content because the ranking extract uses latest values only.
Interpretation Notes
Short notes for reading the ranking without treating the ratio as a classroom-size or outcome indicator.
Indicator Meaning
The ratio divides the number of primary pupils by the number of primary teachers. It is a system-level staffing indicator.
Class Size Difference
Pupil-teacher ratio is not the same as average class size. It does not show how many pupils sit in one classroom.
Source-Year Variation
Latest available values can come from different years. Older rows should be read as last reported values, not current-year estimates.
Ranking Scope
The ranking orders one WDI indicator only. It does not measure teacher quality, learning outcomes, equity, spending, or school access.
Source and Methodology
Main source World Bank Data: Pupil-teacher ratio, primary.
Metadata source World Bank DataBank Metadata Glossary.
Original data publisher UNESCO Institute for Statistics, reported through World Bank WDI.
Indicator definition Primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the average number of pupils per teacher in primary school.
Calculation Number of students at primary level divided by number of teachers at the same level.
Unit Pupils per teacher.
Ranking method Countries/economies are sorted from highest latest reported value to lowest latest reported value.
Rounding Values are shown to two decimal places where needed.
The country table uses latest available values for the WDI indicator SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS. Source years vary by country, so the year column is part of the ranking data. Distribution benchmarks are included as WDI country distribution summaries. Missing countries without a reported latest value are not assigned page-level estimates.
Methodological Safety Note
A lower pupil-teacher ratio is not automatically a better education system, and a higher ratio is not a full measure of teacher shortage. The indicator does not capture class size, teacher qualifications, learning outcomes, school funding, rural access, or time spent teaching. The ranking is limited to one reported primary education staffing ratio from World Bank WDI / UNESCO UIS.