Teacher Shortages by Country 2026: OECD Data and Comparison

Teacher shortages differ sharply across education systems, and no single percentage can describe the whole picture. Countries record staffing pressure through unfilled teaching vacancies, reliance on teachers who have not yet met every national qualification requirement, teacher departures, workforce age and shortages concentrated in particular subjects or regions. OECD data published in 2026 provide several measures that can be compared country by country while preserving the limits of each indicator. [OECD]

The OECD published the 2026 edition on September 29, 2026. Most direct shortage indicators in the chapter refer to the 2024/25 academic year, although several countries use another stated reference year. Teacher age data mainly refer to 2024. The print publication had a data cut-off of June 13, 2026. A country can therefore appear in one indicator and have no comparable value for another. Missing values below are kept visible rather than estimated. [OECD]

OECD teacher-shortage tables and education workforce data, 2026. [OECD]

Teacher Shortage Data by Country in 2026

The table below combines the main country-level indicators used by the OECD to describe teacher supply. Non-fully qualified teachers are teachers who have not yet met every national requirement for full qualification. Vacancy rate is the share of teaching positions left unfilled under the national measurement method. Teacher attrition is the share of fully qualified teachers who left the profession. The final two columns describe the age structure of the primary and secondary teaching workforce.

Belgium and the United Kingdom require an additional distinction because OECD datasets do not always use the same geographic reporting unit. Age data are reported nationally for Belgium and the United Kingdom, while several shortage indicators are reported separately for the Flemish Community, French Community and England. These entries therefore remain separate rather than being combined artificially.

Non-fully qualified teacher data are based on public institutions and generally use full-time equivalents. Attrition covers public institutions. Age data cover public and private institutions and all classroom teachers. Different reference-year and coverage notes apply to some systems. [OECD]

Countries With Higher Shares of Non-Fully Qualified Teachers

The OECD average for public primary and secondary education was 9.1%. Chile recorded the highest combined share among the systems reporting this measure, at 23.4%, followed by Estonia at 20.3%, Denmark at 18.9%, Germany at 18.6% and Norway at 17.6%. Lithuania, the French Community of Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and the Slovak Republic also reported combined shares of 10% or more. [OECD]

The indicator should not be treated as a ranking of teaching quality. National qualification systems differ. Some teachers counted as non-fully qualified already hold the academic degree required for teaching but are completing certification or pedagogical training. Others enter through alternative routes. In Hungary, Latvia and Türkiye, all non-fully qualified teachers recorded in the OECD measure were in the process of acquiring full qualification. The corresponding share within the non-fully qualified group was 91% in Poland, 57% in Romania and 55% in Luxembourg.

The level of education also matters. France reported 2.6% at primary level and 11.1% at secondary level. The French Community of Belgium reported 5.9% in primary and 20.6% in secondary education, Lithuania 11.1% and 17.6%, and Sweden 11.1% and 16.4%. Germany moved in the opposite direction, with 23.5% in primary education and 16.2% in secondary education.

Trend data indicate that reliance on this staffing category has grown in many systems. Among 25 countries and economies with comparable observations for both periods, 17 recorded a higher share in 2024/25 than in 2017/18. The rise exceeded five percentage points in Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and the French Community of Belgium. Costa Rica, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden were among the systems recording declines. [OECD]

Unfilled Teaching Vacancies by Country

Vacancy data measure recruitment pressure more directly, but countries do not all count vacancies at the same stage. The OECD therefore separates systems into two groups. The first estimates shortages before the school year begins, often using projected staffing needs or competitive examinations. The second counts posts that remain unfilled at or shortly after the start of the school year. Values from the two approaches should not be treated as if they came from one identical administrative system. [OECD Methodology]

Every participating system in the OECD vacancy comparison reported a combined vacancy rate below 4%. In the pre-start group, Luxembourg recorded 3.6%, Romania 2.8% and the French Community of Belgium 2.3%. Korea and Türkiye reported 0%. In the post-start group, Latvia recorded 3.0%, Chile 2.9%, Ireland 2.2%, the Flemish Community of Belgium 2.1% and the Netherlands 2.0%. [OECD]

Absolute vacancy counts tell a different story because education systems vary greatly in size. Canada reported 5,050 unfilled positions and Romania 4,765, while Luxembourg reported 456. Their corresponding combined rates were 0.9%, 2.8% and 3.6%. Percentage rates are therefore more useful for comparing staffing pressure relative to the size of each teaching workforce.

Vacancy trends were available for a smaller group. Latvia’s combined rate rose from 1.0% to 3.0% between 2017/18 and 2024/25, while the Flemish Community of Belgium rose from 0.6% to 2.1%. Canada, England, France and Japan also recorded increases in both absolute and relative terms. Luxembourg moved from 4.6% to 3.6%. Korea and Türkiye reported no unfilled vacancies in either comparison year.

Teacher Shortages by Subject

National vacancy rates can hide shortages that are concentrated in a particular subject. For its subject comparison, the OECD defines a shortage as a situation in which at least 5% of available teaching positions or advertised vacancies for a subject remain unfilled after the relevant recruitment process. Sixteen countries and economies supplied secondary-level information under this definition.

Mathematics and natural sciences were the most frequently reported shortage areas, each appearing in 11 of the 16 reporting systems. Nine reported shortages in second and other languages and eight in reading, writing and literature. Estonia was the only system in the dataset reporting shortages across every subject and every territory covered by the collection. [OECD]

Secondary staffing pressure was also higher than primary pressure in several vacancy datasets. Latvia reported 3.9% in secondary education versus 1.9% in primary, Chile 3.6% versus 2.6%, Romania 3.3% versus 1.5%, and the French Community of Belgium 3.1% versus 1.8%. Ireland, Sweden and Japan showed the reverse pattern.

Teacher Attrition by Country

Recruitment pressure is only one side of teacher supply. Education systems also need to replace teachers who leave. Across countries and economies with available data, 6.4% of fully qualified primary and secondary teachers left the profession in the latest OECD collection. The measure includes resignation and retirement and can also include departures from the public system under the OECD definition.

Denmark recorded the highest combined value in the table at 14.5%, although upper secondary education is excluded from that observation. Latvia followed at 12.0%, the French Community of Belgium at 11.6%, Brazil at 10.3% and Finland at 9.1%. France, Korea and Luxembourg each reported 1.9%, while Ireland reported 2.1% and Israel 2.5%. [OECD]

The reason for leaving differs by country. On average, 55% of primary and secondary departures were recorded as resignations, 34% as retirements and 12% as moves to another assignment within the public education sector. Resignations represented 91% of recorded departures in England, 83% in the French Community of Belgium, 80% in Finland and 76% in Estonia. Retirement represented 83% in France, 68% in Ireland, 67% in Israel and 66% in Luxembourg.

Early-career departures form another part of the retention picture. Among systems with available information, 38% of primary and secondary teachers who resigned had less than five years of experience on average. The share was 77% in Israel, 69% in Austria, 66% in the French Community of Belgium, 64% in Luxembourg and 46% in Chile. Korea reported 8%, Denmark 15% and Sweden 21%.

The Age of The Teaching Workforce

The age structure of the workforce helps show where replacement demand may emerge even when current vacancies are modest. Across OECD countries, 22% of primary and secondary teachers were under 35 in 2024, while 23% were aged 55 or older. Secondary education alone had an older profile: 20% of teachers were under 35 and 25% were 55 or older. [OECD]

Lithuania had the largest combined share in the table at 42%, followed by Estonia and Latvia at 38%. Italy and Portugal each reported 37%. At the other end, Türkiye reported 6% of primary and secondary teachers aged 55 or older, Korea 10%, and Costa Rica, Ireland and Luxembourg 11%.

The long-term direction also matters. Across the OECD, the share of primary and secondary teachers under 35 fell from 23% in 2015 to 22% in 2024, while the share aged 55 or older rose from 20% to 23%. Greece recorded a particularly large shift: the share aged 55 or older rose from 15% to 33% over the period.

Teacher Absence Can Add Staffing Pressure During The School Year

Vacancy rates mainly describe recruitment around the start of the school year. They do not capture every staffing disruption that occurs later. In separate OECD data, more than one-quarter of 15-year-old students across participating OECD systems attended schools whose principals said teacher absenteeism hindered learning to some extent or a lot. The OECD average was 27%, rising to 29% in public schools and 16% in private schools. This measure reflects principals’ reports rather than administrative absence records. [OECD]

Among OECD countries, the reported student exposure measure reached 60% in Belgium, 55% in Germany, 52% in Estonia and 51% in the Netherlands. It was 1% in Lithuania, 3% in Korea, 6% in Japan and Türkiye, and 7% in Spain.

A newer administrative indicator tracks fully qualified teachers absent for at least two months. Austria, Ireland and Korea reported the highest shares, each at 8% or more in the 2024/25 collection. Luxembourg reported 5.9%, the French Community of Belgium 5.8% and Hungary 4.8%. Estonia, the Flemish Community of Belgium and the Slovak Republic reported rates below 2%.

Regional Shortages Can Differ From National Averages

A national percentage can hide much stronger pressure inside particular territories. OECD institution-level data found that non-fully qualified teachers represented 40.2% in Chañaral, Chile, and 37.5% in Última Esperanza. The Brussels-Capital Region in the Flemish Community of Belgium recorded 20.2%, while the Jerusalem District in Israel recorded 18.1%.

Norway also showed higher shares in several northern regions: Troms recorded 11.1%, Finnmark 10.9% and Nordland 10.5%. Regional values in Ireland remained below 3% even in the areas with the highest shares in the OECD’s institution-level comparison.

The concentration is visible at school level as well. In Chile, 77% of primary students and 69% of lower secondary students attended public schools where more than 10% of teachers were non-fully qualified. Israel recorded 46% at primary level. In the Flemish Community of Belgium, 31% of lower secondary students attended such schools, compared with 15% of primary students. Ireland recorded 4% and 3% respectively. [OECD]

Second-Career Teachers and Alternative Entry Routes

Countries also differ in how much they recruit people who previously worked outside teaching. The OECD defines second-career teachers in its TALIS comparison as lower secondary teachers for whom teaching was not a first career choice and who had at least ten years of work experience outside education.

The OECD average was 8.4%. Iceland recorded 20.9%, New Zealand 17.2%, Australia 16.9%, the Netherlands 16.9%, Bulgaria 16.4% and the United States 16.3%. Korea, Japan and Türkiye each recorded 0.9%, while Saudi Arabia recorded 0.2%. Second-career entry does not itself indicate a shortage; it describes another route through which education systems can expand teacher supply. [OECD]

Sixteen of the 28 countries and economies with available information had structured pathways tailored to second-career teachers. Depending on the system, these routes can combine employment-based training, recognition of previous professional experience, shortened pedagogical preparation or alternative certification.

Employment Conditions and Teacher Retention

Teacher supply also depends on whether people remain in the profession. TALIS 2024 data show that 80.7% of lower secondary teachers across the OECD held permanent employment. Another 5.7% had fixed-term contracts lasting more than one school year and 13.6% had contracts lasting one school year or less. The structure differed widely across countries. Denmark reported 97.0% permanent employment, Latvia 96.2%, France 93.7%, New Zealand 92.9%, Lithuania 92.4% and Norway 92.1%.

Permanent employment was less common in Costa Rica at 55.8%, Brazil at 63.5%, the United States at 65.6%, Portugal at 67.4% and Spain at 69.2%. A temporary contract can reflect probation, teacher replacement or other national employment rules, so these shares should not be interpreted as a direct shortage rate.

Teachers also distinguish between salary and other employment conditions. Across participating OECD systems, 68.4% of lower secondary teachers said they were satisfied with their terms of employment excluding salary, while 38.7% were satisfied with salary. Austria reported 81.6% and 71.9%; the Netherlands 79.7% and 74.1%; Denmark 71.0% and 69.5%. Poland reported a wider gap at 80.3% versus 20.5%, Lithuania 77.4% versus 28.4%, Estonia 73.4% versus 30.0%, and Portugal 39.1% versus 13.4%. [OECD]

Only 21.7% of lower secondary teachers across the OECD agreed that the teaching profession was valued in society. The share was 3.8% in France, 6.5% in the Slovak Republic, 7.4% in Slovenia, 8.4% in Hungary and 8.7% in Portugal. Higher reported shares included Saudi Arabia at 77.1%, South Africa at 63.0%, Colombia at 54.0%, Finland at 48.1%, Bulgaria at 42.4% and Romania at 42.0%.

Student Numbers and Future Teacher Demand

Falling student numbers do not automatically remove teacher shortages. Between 2015 and 2024, primary enrollment across OECD countries increased by around 2%, while the number of full-time-equivalent primary teachers increased by around 13%. The average number of students per teacher therefore fell over the period. Changes in class size, teaching hours, curriculum, school organization and student support can all change the number of teachers required even when enrollment moves in the opposite direction. [OECD]

Luxembourg illustrates the difference between enrollment and staffing. Primary student numbers rose by about 20% between 2015 and 2024, while teacher numbers rose by 57%, reducing the number of students per teacher. Greece moved differently: primary enrollment fell by about 12%, while teacher numbers rose by 16%.

Only four of the 40 countries with comparable primary data — Austria, Latvia, Lithuania and the United Kingdom — recorded an increase in students per teacher over the period. Lithuania showed the largest change: student numbers rose by around 12% while teacher numbers fell by around 16%, producing an increase of roughly 34% in students per teacher.

Projected School-Age Population Change to 2033

The OECD projects that the population aged 5–14 will decline by around 9% across OECD countries between 2024 and 2033. The direction is far from uniform. Israel is projected to grow by 16% in this age group, Luxembourg and South Africa by about 10%, while Iceland and Saudi Arabia are also projected to grow.

The largest projected declines cited in the OECD chapter include Korea at 40%, Argentina and Costa Rica at 28%, Latvia at 23%, Lithuania at 22%, Japan at 19%, Italy at 18% and Poland at 17%. Declining enrollment may reduce total staffing demand in some places, but subject specialization, retirements and geographic distribution mean that teacher shortages can continue at the same time.

Interpreting Teacher Shortage Comparisons

1. Vacancies and non-fully qualified teachers measure different things. A system can fill nearly every post while relying more heavily on alternative qualification routes.
2. National qualification rules differ. A teacher classified as non-fully qualified in one country may have an academic background similar to a fully qualified teacher elsewhere but lack a locally required certification step.
3. Vacancy methods differ. Some countries measure expected shortages before the school year; others count positions remaining open after recruitment has begun.
4. A missing value is not zero. Countries without comparable data remain marked as Data not available.
5. Education level matters. Primary and secondary staffing pressures can move in different directions within the same country.
6. Subject shortages can exist despite a low national vacancy rate. Mathematics and natural sciences are the most frequently reported shortage areas in the OECD subject dataset.
7. Local shortages can be much larger than national averages. Regional and school-level data show wide variation within several countries.
8. Attrition and workforce age affect future supply. A country with modest current vacancies can still face replacement pressure when a large share of teachers approaches retirement.

For country comparison, the clearest picture comes from reading the indicators together. A vacancy rate measures posts that could not be filled under the relevant recruitment method. The non-fully qualified share describes who is already working in schools. Attrition measures workforce departures, while age data show the balance between younger teachers and those closer to retirement. Subject and regional data then reveal where staffing pressure is concentrated. Used together, these measures provide a much more accurate view of teacher shortages than a single global shortage ranking.