Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in primary public institutions (%) by country
Teacher compensation expressed as a percentage of direct expenditure in public educational institutions (instructional and non-instructional) of the specified level of education. Financial aid to students and other transfers are excluded from direct expenditure. Staff compensation includes salaries, contributions...
What the numbers show
Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in primary public institutions (%) is currently reported for 67 countries. The highest value is 95.8% in Senegal; the lowest is 36.1% in Sri Lanka.
The median across all reporting countries is 65.1%, and the mean is 65.6%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.
Over the past decade 28 countries rose and 34 fell. The largest increase was in Uganda (up 446.8%), and the largest decrease in Sri Lanka (down 49.4%).
Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senegal | 95.8% | 2018 | up 44.9% | rising |
| 2 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 89.3% | 2018 | down 0.7% | rising |
| 3 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 88.2% | 2018 | — | rising |
| 4 | Niger | 87.8% | 2017 | up 37.8% | rising |
| 5 | Togo | 85.5% | 2016 | down 10.3% | rising |
| 6 | Mexico | 83.3% | 2017 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 7 | Portugal | 83.1% | 2017 | up 3.8% | falling |
| 8 | Colombia | 83.1% | 2018 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 9 | Romania | 81.8% | 2017 | up 5.2% | rising |
| 10 | Uruguay | 81.8% | 2015 | up 83.0% | rising |
| 11 | Gambia | 80.6% | 2013 | up 119.0% | rising |
| 12 | Cyprus | 79.5% | 2017 | up 13.0% | rising |
| 13 | Guatemala | 78.9% | 2019 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 14 | Cape Verde | 78.3% | 2016 | up 2.5% | flat |
| 15 | Vanuatu | 77.8% | 2017 | down 12.4% | falling |
| 16 | Costa Rica | 75.9% | 2019 | up 10.9% | flat |
| 17 | India | 75.7% | 2005 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 18 | British Virgin Islands | 75.5% | 2010 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 19 | Mali | 75.3% | 2017 | up 59.8% | rising |
| 20 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 75.1% | 2014 | up 37.5% | rising |
| 21 | South Africa | 74.3% | 2019 | down 0.2% | falling |
| 22 | Kenya | 74.1% | 2015 | — | rising |
| 23 | Jamaica | 73.6% | 2019 | down 7.4% | flat |
| 24 | Cameroon | 72.6% | 2013 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 25 | Ecuador | 72.4% | 2018 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 26 | Kuwait | 72.0% | 2014 | down 4.5% | falling |
| 27 | Luxembourg | 71.4% | 2017 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 28 | Côte d'Ivoire | 71.2% | 2018 | up 16.2% | rising |
| 29 | Nepal | 70.9% | 2015 | down 0.8% | flat |
| 30 | Saint Lucia | 70.6% | 2018 | down 1.8% | falling |
| 31 | Spain | 67.3% | 2017 | up 4.3% | falling |
| 32 | Jordan | 65.7% | 2019 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 33 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 65.3% | 2017 | up 51.9% | rising |
| 34 | Guinea | 65.1% | 2019 | up 13.2% | rising |
| 35 | Argentina | 63.3% | 2017 | down 3.4% | rising |
| 36 | Ireland | 63.2% | 2017 | down 7.6% | falling |
| 37 | Uganda | 62.7% | 2014 | up 446.8% | rising |
| 38 | Bulgaria | 62.6% | 2017 | up 32.3% | rising |
| 39 | Burkina Faso | 62.1% | 2016 | up 73.6% | rising |
| 40 | Belgium | 61.9% | 2017 | — | flat |
| 41 | Afghanistan | 61.8% | 2017 | down 4.8% | falling |
| 42 | Benin | 61.4% | 2015 | down 10.4% | falling |
| 43 | Guyana | 60.7% | 2012 | down 7.2% | flat |
| 44 | Slovakia | 60.3% | 2017 | up 12.8% | flat |
| 45 | Italy | 59.9% | 2017 | down 4.7% | flat |
| 46 | Dominican Republic | 59.6% | 2019 | down 0.8% | falling |
| 47 | Switzerland | 59.5% | 2017 | down 7.3% | falling |
| 48 | Australia | 59.0% | 2017 | down 1.5% | falling |
| 49 | Austria | 56.6% | 2017 | down 15.2% | falling |
| 50 | Denmark | 55.0% | 2014 | up 16.7% | rising |
| 51 | Ghana | 54.8% | 2012 | down 3.7% | rising |
| 52 | Lithuania | 54.7% | 2017 | down 16.2% | falling |
| 53 | Maldives | 54.7% | 2015 | down 18.9% | falling |
| 54 | Peru | 54.3% | 2019 | up 5.4% | falling |
| 55 | Sweden | 51.7% | 2017 | up 4.5% | flat |
| 56 | Malaysia | 50.3% | 2019 | down 41.9% | rising |
| 57 | Iceland | 50.2% | 2017 | up 0.9% | flat |
| 58 | Andorra | 50.0% | 2019 | up 30.3% | rising |
| 59 | United States of America | 49.2% | 2017 | — | flat |
| 60 | Paraguay | 47.9% | 2016 | down 31.8% | falling |
| 61 | Finland | 45.8% | 2017 | down 13.5% | falling |
| 62 | Republic of Moldova | 45.1% | 2015 | up 16.7% | falling |
| 63 | Estonia | 43.3% | 2017 | — | rising |
| 64 | Sierra Leone | 42.1% | 2019 | down 46.6% | falling |
| 65 | Czechia | 38.1% | 2017 | down 21.4% | falling |
| 66 | Malta | 38.0% | 2017 | down 28.9% | flat |
| 67 | Sri Lanka | 36.1% | 2017 | down 49.4% | falling |
About this data
Teacher compensation expressed as a percentage of direct expenditure in public educational institutions (instructional and non-instructional) of the specified level of education. Financial aid to students and other transfers are excluded from direct expenditure. Staff compensation includes salaries, contributions by employers for staff retirement programmes, and other allowances and benefits. To calculate this indicator, divide teacher compensation in public institutions of a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by total expenditure (current and capital) in public institutions of the same level of education, and multiply by 100. Limitations: Although countries responding to the UIS questionnaire on educational expenditure are required to follow common definitions for staff compensation, in some cases government budget classifications may differ. It is also often difficult to separate staff compensation between teachers and non-teachers, as these are usually grouped together in country's accounting systems. In general, respondent countries must use estimation methods to separate teacher and non-teacher staff compensation. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/