Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in 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 public institutions (%) is currently reported for 57 countries. The highest value is 89.5% in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the lowest is 6.3% in Sri Lanka.
The median across all reporting countries is 57.8%, and the mean is 55.7%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 14.
Over the past decade 23 countries rose and 29 fell. The largest increase was in Uganda (up 236.8%), and the largest decrease in Sri Lanka (down 89.9%).
Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 89.5% | 2010 | up 47.7% | rising |
| 2 | Uruguay | 82.6% | 2015 | up 68.3% | rising |
| 3 | India | 80.4% | 2005 | down 5.5% | flat |
| 4 | Togo | 78.5% | 2016 | down 4.1% | rising |
| 5 | Colombia | 77.4% | 2018 | up 54.7% | rising |
| 6 | Croatia | 75.2% | 2017 | up 62.9% | rising |
| 7 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 72.4% | 2018 | up 29.1% | rising |
| 8 | Mexico | 72.4% | 2017 | down 1.4% | falling |
| 9 | Cyprus | 72.1% | 2017 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 10 | Burundi | 71.1% | 2012 | — | rising |
| 11 | Romania | 69.8% | 2017 | up 12.3% | rising |
| 12 | Vanuatu | 68.3% | 2017 | down 12.0% | rising |
| 13 | Guatemala | 67.3% | 2019 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 14 | Jamaica | 66.9% | 2019 | down 8.7% | flat |
| 15 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 66.1% | 2014 | up 29.5% | rising |
| 16 | Sierra Leone | 65.7% | 2011 | — | flat |
| 17 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 65.0% | 2017 | up 30.9% | rising |
| 18 | Spain | 64.8% | 2017 | up 8.5% | flat |
| 19 | Côte d'Ivoire | 64.7% | 2018 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 20 | Luxembourg | 63.8% | 2017 | up 4.7% | rising |
| 21 | Guyana | 61.1% | 2012 | up 22.8% | rising |
| 22 | Afghanistan | 61.0% | 2015 | down 1.5% | flat |
| 23 | Belgium | 60.5% | 2017 | up 0.5% | falling |
| 24 | Benin | 60.0% | 2015 | up 18.8% | falling |
| 25 | Argentina | 60.0% | 2017 | down 5.7% | flat |
| 26 | Ghana | 58.4% | 2012 | up 12.8% | rising |
| 27 | Austria | 57.9% | 2017 | down 7.5% | flat |
| 28 | Kenya | 57.8% | 2015 | — | rising |
| 29 | Nepal | 57.8% | 2015 | down 6.7% | flat |
| 30 | South Africa | 57.5% | 2019 | down 11.0% | falling |
| 31 | Switzerland | 57.1% | 2016 | down 5.5% | falling |
| 32 | Paraguay | 55.3% | 2016 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 33 | Italy | 54.9% | 2017 | down 3.2% | flat |
| 34 | Bulgaria | 54.7% | 2017 | up 25.3% | rising |
| 35 | Canada | 50.1% | 2013 | up 2.9% | falling |
| 36 | Senegal | 50.0% | 2015 | down 13.2% | falling |
| 37 | Denmark | 49.4% | 2012 | up 5.3% | flat |
| 38 | Slovakia | 49.3% | 2017 | up 11.8% | falling |
| 39 | Malaysia | 48.1% | 2019 | down 28.8% | rising |
| 40 | Ireland | 47.3% | 2017 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 41 | Iceland | 47.2% | 2017 | up 2.0% | flat |
| 42 | Mali | 46.8% | 2017 | down 2.1% | flat |
| 43 | Maldives | 46.1% | 2015 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 44 | Lithuania | 46.0% | 2017 | down 11.1% | falling |
| 45 | Peru | 45.9% | 2019 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 46 | Bangladesh | 44.9% | 2019 | down 9.3% | falling |
| 47 | Timor-Leste | 44.6% | 2014 | down 14.4% | rising |
| 48 | Slovenia | 43.1% | 2007 | — | rising |
| 49 | Finland | 40.6% | 2017 | down 9.8% | falling |
| 50 | Czechia | 40.2% | 2017 | up 4.6% | falling |
| 51 | Malta | 39.4% | 2017 | down 11.2% | flat |
| 52 | Estonia | 35.9% | 2017 | — | rising |
| 53 | Uganda | 33.2% | 2014 | up 236.8% | rising |
| 54 | Republic of Moldova | 32.9% | 2014 | down 5.8% | flat |
| 55 | Andorra | 26.2% | 2019 | down 37.8% | falling |
| 56 | Guinea | 12.0% | 2019 | down 68.9% | falling |
| 57 | Sri Lanka | 6.3% | 2018 | down 89.9% | 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/