Student-Teacher Ratio by Country: 2026 Global Data

Student-teacher ratio by country is a staffing indicator showing the average number of primary pupils for each teacher recorded at the same education level. The main 2026 table below uses the latest pupil and teacher series from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics data release and calculates a ratio only when the two latest records refer to the same year. This keeps the standard pupil-teacher measure separate from ratios based only on trained or qualified teachers.

Data Coverage, Source, and Calculation

The February 2026 UIS education release is the base data source. The UIS Data Browser identifies the current education dataset as the February 2026 Data Release, while its bulk-download service states that the files contain the latest official data disseminated by UIS [UNESCO UIS]. The current World Bank primary-pupil series identifies UIS as its source and reports that the data were obtained through the UIS API, with a February 2026 publication date [World Bank / UIS]. The corresponding primary-teacher series uses the same UIS release [World Bank / UIS].

For each country or economy, the standard ratio on this page is calculated as primary pupils divided by primary teachers only when the latest available pupil year and teacher year are identical. The teacher series covers teachers recorded at primary level, including full-time and part-time teachers. Ratios are rounded to one decimal place. If the latest years differ, the table shows Data not available instead of combining observations from different school years.

The older World Bank ratio series, SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS, still carries a 1970–2019 reference period in its current metadata and is therefore not used as the main 2026 country table [World Bank]. Destatis is retained only as a cross-check. Its international table attributes the data to UIS but includes values such as Algeria 194, Mali 210, and Cameroon 157 [Destatis]. Those entries are not carried into the table below. Using matched current UIS-backed pupil and teacher records gives approximately 21.4 for Algeria in 2025, 49.6 for Mali in 2023, and 43.6 for Cameroon in 2024.

Primary Student-Teacher Ratio by Country

The table includes every country or economy appearing in the current primary-pupil series used for this update. A numeric ratio is shown only where the latest pupil and teacher observations share the same year. The status column keeps year mismatches visible, including cases where an older teacher observation would otherwise be mistaken for a current ratio.

Several previously stale-looking cases change under this rule. Germany and Finland now have matched 2024 pupil and teacher records, while Japan has a matched 2023 record. Canada is not assigned a new ratio because its latest pupil observation is 2023 while the current UIS-backed teacher series still shows 2000 as the latest teacher year. France is also left uncalculated because the latest pupil and teacher years are 2024 and 2013, respectively. The same rule is applied to every row.

Higher Ratios Among Recent Matched Records

The chart below is limited to matched records from 2023–2025. This avoids presenting an older observation as though it describes current staffing. A high national ratio means more pupils are recorded for each teacher in the dataset; it does not show the size of every classroom or explain why the ratio is high.

Standard, Trained, and Qualified Teacher Ratios Are Different

The standard pupil-teacher ratio should not be mixed with teacher-qualification indicators. UIS lists pupil-trained teacher ratio as SDG indicator 4.c.2 and pupil-qualified teacher ratio as SDG indicator 4.c.4 [UNESCO UIS]. The trained-teacher measure uses only teachers who meet the required pedagogical training definition, while the qualified-teacher measure uses teachers who meet the minimum academic qualifications required in the country.

This distinction is especially important when using third-party charts sourced from UIS. A dataset titled pupils per qualified teacher is not interchangeable with the standard pupil-teacher ratio. Where fewer teachers meet the training or qualification definition, those specialized ratios can be much higher than the standard measure.

OECD and EU Reference Points

OECD reporting provides a separate comparison based on its own education data collection. In 2024, OECD countries averaged 14 students per teacher in primary education and 13 students per teacher at both lower and upper secondary levels. OECD calculates these ratios from full-time equivalent students and teachers, so they should be compared with the UIS-derived headcount table only after checking the definition, reference year, and coverage. [OECD]

OECD data also place staffing ratios in a demographic and workforce context. Between 2015 and 2024, the average primary ratio fell from 15:1 to 14:1; over the same period, full-time equivalent primary teacher numbers rose by about 13% while student numbers rose by about 2%. Demographic change does not translate mechanically into teacher demand because systems may preserve local access, adjust class provision, expand inclusion support, or face recruitment and replacement pressures. Across primary and secondary education, the share of teachers aged 55 or over rose from 20% to 23% between 2015 and 2024. [OECD]

Eurostat’s latest EU update reports 13.3 primary pupils per teacher in 2024. Greece recorded 7.4 and Luxembourg 8.2, while Germany recorded 15.2, the Netherlands 16.3, Czechia and France 17.9, and Romania 18.2 [Eurostat]. Eurostat uses its own harmonized education reporting and may differ from a UIS headcount-based calculation for the same country.

Student-Teacher Ratio vs Class Size

Student-teacher ratio and class size do not measure the same thing. The ratio compares the teaching workforce with enrollment, while class size measures how many students are grouped in a class. In 2024, OECD countries averaged 21 students per primary class even though the average primary student-teacher ratio was 14:1. At lower secondary level, the corresponding averages were 23 students per class and 13 students per teacher. [OECD]

Specialist teachers, support roles, part-time work, teaching hours, multi-grade classes, and school organization can all create a gap between the two measures. A national ratio therefore describes staffing at system level rather than the number of pupils a particular teacher faces in one lesson.

Why Some Countries Have No Updated Ratio

International databases do not receive every pupil and teacher series on the same timetable. A country may have a recent enrollment submission but no teacher count for the same year, or the reverse. This page does not carry an older ratio forward and label it as current. Instead, the main table records the latest years separately and leaves the ratio uncalculated when they do not match.

This affects countries such as Canada, France, Australia, Argentina, Czechia, and several smaller economies in the current release. Their rows remain in the table so the absence of a matched current ratio is visible rather than hidden.

United States Data Scope

National sources can use a different staffing scope from an international series. The U.S. National Center for Education Statistics reports teachers as full-time equivalents in its Common Core of Data tables, while the UIS-backed international teacher series has its own reporting definition [NCES]. A U.S. national ratio and an international ratio can therefore differ without either value being a transcription error.