Pupil-qualified teacher ratio in lower secondary (headcount basis) by country
Average number of pupils per qualified teacher at a given level of education, based on headcounts of both pupils and teachers. Divide the total number of pupils enrolled at the specified level of education by the number of qualified teachers at the same level. A qualified teacher is one who has the minimum academic...
What the numbers show
Pupil-qualified teacher ratio in lower secondary (headcount basis) is currently reported for 29 countries. The highest value is 46.1 headcount basis in Eritrea; the lowest is 7.23 headcount basis in Maldives.
The median across all reporting countries is 15.58 headcount basis, and the mean is 18.65 headcount basis.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6.
Over the past decade 8 countries rose and 13 fell. The largest increase was in Saudi Arabia (up 27.6%), and the largest decrease in Palestine (down 56.5%).
Pupil-qualified teacher ratio in lower secondary: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eritrea | 46.1 headcount basis | 2018 | down 0.8% | flat |
| 2 | Nepal | 35.88 headcount basis | 2019 | down 20.3% | falling |
| 3 | Niger | 34.73 headcount basis | 2017 | — | rising |
| 4 | Palestine | 32.48 headcount basis | 2019 | down 56.5% | falling |
| 6 | Colombia | 26.53 headcount basis | 2017 | — | flat |
| 7 | Belize | 25.81 headcount basis | 2019 | down 42.2% | falling |
| 8 | Thailand | 25.67 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 9 | Ecuador | 24.87 headcount basis | 2018 | down 14.1% | falling |
| 10 | Cambodia | 21.87 headcount basis | 2018 | up 9.0% | rising |
| 11 | Sri Lanka | 20.82 headcount basis | 2018 | up 7.1% | rising |
| 12 | Gambia | 20.67 headcount basis | 2019 | down 37.8% | falling |
| 13 | Barbados | 20.23 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 14 | Laos | 19.56 headcount basis | 2018 | down 4.6% | falling |
| 15 | Suriname | 17.63 headcount basis | 2018 | down 21.6% | falling |
| 17 | Bahamas | 15.58 headcount basis | 2018 | up 5.6% | flat |
| 18 | Costa Rica | 13.53 headcount basis | 2019 | down 5.3% | falling |
| 19 | Saudi Arabia | 13.21 headcount basis | 2019 | up 27.6% | rising |
| 20 | China | 12.86 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 21 | Bhutan | 12.58 headcount basis | 2020 | down 5.4% | falling |
| 22 | Cuba | 12.46 headcount basis | 2019 | up 14.7% | rising |
| 23 | Qatar | 11.99 headcount basis | 2019 | up 18.5% | rising |
| 24 | Bahrain | 11.47 headcount basis | 2019 | up 0.0% | flat |
| 25 | Brunei | 10.98 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 26 | Macao | 10.73 headcount basis | 2019 | down 23.6% | falling |
| 27 | Albania | 10.63 headcount basis | 2017 | — | falling |
| 28 | Uzbekistan | 8.77 headcount basis | 2017 | down 18.3% | falling |
| 29 | Belarus | 8.42 headcount basis | 2018 | — | flat |
| 30 | Serbia | 7.6 headcount basis | 2019 | down 12.8% | falling |
| 31 | Maldives | 7.23 headcount basis | 2019 | up 10.9% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Least developed countries: UN classification 34.72 headcount basis
- IDA only 31.93 headcount basis
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 23.87 headcount basis
- South Asia 23.87 headcount basis
- Lower middle income 22.77 headcount basis
- Caribbean Small States 21.91 headcount basis
- Early-demographic dividend 21.48 headcount basis
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 20.39 headcount basis
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 20.17 headcount basis
- Small states 19.27 headcount basis
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 18.95 headcount basis
- Low & middle income 18.68 headcount basis
About this data
Average number of pupils per qualified teacher at a given level of education, based on headcounts of both pupils and teachers. Divide the total number of pupils enrolled at the specified level of education by the number of qualified teachers at the same level. A qualified teacher is one who has the minimum academic qualifications necessary to teach at a specific level of education in a given country. This is usually related to the subject(s) they teach. In computing and interpreting this indicator, one should take into account the existence of part-time teaching, school-shifts, multi-grade classes and other practices that may affect the precision and meaningfulness of pupil-teacher ratios. When feasible, the number of part-time teachers is converted to ‘full-time equivalent’ teachers; a double-shift teacher is counted twice, etc. Teachers are defined as persons whose professional activity involves the transmitting of knowledge, attitudes and skills that are stipulated in a formal curriculum programme to students enrolled in a formal educational institution.