Pupil-trained teacher ratio in lower secondary education (headcount basis) by country
Average number of pupils per trained 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 trained teachers at the same level. A trained teacher is defined as a teacher who has fulfilled...
What the numbers show
Pupil-trained teacher ratio in lower secondary education (headcount basis) is currently reported for 60 countries. The highest value is 252.54 headcount basis in Niger; the lowest is 4.58 headcount basis in Bermuda.
The median across all reporting countries is 20.73 headcount basis, and the mean is 28.86 headcount basis.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 55.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 35 fell. The largest increase was in Gibraltar (up 1,326.3%), and the largest decrease in Eritrea (down 72.8%).
Pupil-trained teacher ratio in lower secondary education: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niger | 252.54 headcount basis | 2010 | up 71.1% | rising |
| 2 | Gibraltar | 95.57 headcount basis | 2019 | up 1,326.3% | volatile |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 78.6 headcount basis | 2019 | up 50.9% | falling |
| 4 | Mali | 53.65 headcount basis | 2018 | up 11.5% | rising |
| 5 | Mozambique | 52.49 headcount basis | 2014 | down 18.2% | falling |
| 6 | Nicaragua | 52.49 headcount basis | 2008 | down 19.1% | falling |
| 7 | Belize | 52.27 headcount basis | 2019 | up 4.2% | falling |
| 8 | Eritrea | 46.45 headcount basis | 2013 | down 72.8% | falling |
| 9 | Kenya | 44.76 headcount basis | 2009 | up 11.7% | rising |
| 10 | Mauritania | 43.02 headcount basis | 2019 | up 13.5% | rising |
| 11 | Barbados | 38.95 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 12 | Liberia | 38.86 headcount basis | 2016 | up 37.0% | rising |
| 13 | Nepal | 37.46 headcount basis | 2019 | down 62.1% | volatile |
| 14 | Trinidad and Tobago | 33.43 headcount basis | 2009 | down 20.2% | falling |
| 15 | Myanmar | 32.09 headcount basis | 2018 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 16 | Sierra Leone | 31.52 headcount basis | 2019 | down 2.6% | falling |
| 17 | Dominica | 30.27 headcount basis | 2014 | down 33.5% | falling |
| 18 | El Salvador | 29.84 headcount basis | 2018 | up 3.9% | flat |
| 19 | Pakistan | 28.41 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 20 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 27.75 headcount basis | 2010 | down 32.1% | falling |
| 21 | Grenada | 27.75 headcount basis | 2018 | down 28.2% | falling |
| 22 | Colombia | 26.9 headcount basis | 2017 | down 8.6% | falling |
| 23 | Thailand | 25.67 headcount basis | 2019 | — | flat |
| 24 | Dominican Republic | 23.91 headcount basis | 2015 | down 17.3% | falling |
| 25 | Cambodia | 21.87 headcount basis | 2018 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 26 | Iran | 21.33 headcount basis | 2017 | up 14.0% | flat |
| 27 | Mongolia | 21.09 headcount basis | 2007 | up 33.6% | rising |
| 28 | Mexico | 20.97 headcount basis | 2012 | down 8.0% | falling |
| 29 | Sri Lanka | 20.88 headcount basis | 2018 | down 13.2% | falling |
| 30 | Ecuador | 20.8 headcount basis | 2007 | up 29.0% | rising |
| 31 | Gambia | 20.67 headcount basis | 2019 | down 49.6% | falling |
| 32 | Kiribati | 19.16 headcount basis | 2015 | down 9.7% | falling |
| 33 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 18.71 headcount basis | 2012 | down 24.7% | falling |
| 34 | Vietnam | 18.63 headcount basis | 2019 | up 2.8% | falling |
| 35 | Laos | 18.39 headcount basis | 2019 | down 16.4% | falling |
| 36 | Ghana | 18.3 headcount basis | 2018 | down 28.3% | falling |
| 37 | Palestine | 17.61 headcount basis | 2019 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 38 | Suriname | 16.42 headcount basis | 2018 | down 11.3% | falling |
| 39 | Cape Verde | 16.37 headcount basis | 2018 | down 45.4% | falling |
| 40 | Panama | 15.59 headcount basis | 2017 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 41 | Bahamas | 15.58 headcount basis | 2018 | up 6.5% | rising |
| 42 | Saint Lucia | 14.87 headcount basis | 2019 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 43 | Costa Rica | 13.81 headcount basis | 2019 | down 25.6% | falling |
| 44 | United Arab Emirates | 13.58 headcount basis | 2016 | down 55.5% | falling |
| 45 | Saudi Arabia | 13.21 headcount basis | 2019 | up 27.6% | rising |
| 46 | Bhutan | 12.58 headcount basis | 2020 | down 63.5% | falling |
| 47 | Qatar | 11.99 headcount basis | 2019 | down 38.5% | falling |
| 48 | Croatia | 11.93 headcount basis | 2003 | — | falling |
| 49 | Macao | 11.74 headcount basis | 2019 | down 53.1% | falling |
| 50 | Cayman Islands | 11.57 headcount basis | 2018 | up 0.9% | falling |
| 51 | Bahrain | 11.47 headcount basis | 2019 | down 23.0% | falling |
| 52 | Oman | 10.81 headcount basis | 2019 | — | falling |
| 53 | Brunei | 10.73 headcount basis | 2019 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 54 | Kuwait | 10.2 headcount basis | 2012 | down 14.0% | falling |
| 55 | Moldova | 10.14 headcount basis | 2019 | — | rising |
| 56 | Cuba | 9.67 headcount basis | 2019 | up 1.8% | falling |
| 57 | Belarus | 8.53 headcount basis | 2018 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 58 | Andorra | 7.26 headcount basis | 2012 | up 6.6% | rising |
| 59 | Maldives | 5.79 headcount basis | 2019 | down 34.1% | volatile |
| 60 | Bermuda | 4.58 headcount basis | 2014 | down 33.5% | falling |
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 46.9 headcount basis
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 43.85 headcount basis
- IDA only 42.5 headcount basis
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 41.26 headcount basis
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 41.22 headcount basis
- Sub-Saharan Africa 41.22 headcount basis
- IDA total 35.14 headcount basis
- Caribbean Small States 33.35 headcount basis
- IDA blend 28.31 headcount basis
- South Asia 27.86 headcount basis
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 27.86 headcount basis
- Pacific island small states 27.27 headcount basis
About this data
Average number of pupils per trained 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 trained teachers at the same level. A trained teacher is defined as a teacher who has fulfilled at least the minimum organized teacher-training requirements (pre-service or in-service) to teach a specific level of education according to the relevant national policy or law. These requirements usually include pedagogical knowledge (broad principles and strategies of classroom management and organization that transcend the subject matter being taught - typically approaches, methods and techniques of teaching), and professional knowledge (knowledge of statutory instruments and other legal frameworks that govern the teaching profession). Some programmes may also cover content knowledge (knowledge of the curriculum and the subject matter to be taught and the use of relevant materials). 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.