OECD: How Are Countries Balancing Teaching Staff Compensation with Broader Education Investment?
SDG 4: Quality Education
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Ministry of Education
The report reveals that teaching staff compensation - covering salaries, retirement contributions, and benefits for teachers and assistants - accounts for an average of 58% of public primary and secondary education expenditure across OECD countries. A 10% increase in such compensation would cost approximately 0.19% of GDP on average.
There is substantial variation: Mexico and Portugal allocate over 75% of education budgets to teaching staff, while Czechia, Estonia, and Finland spend less than 45%, allowing greater investment in non-teaching staff, infrastructure, and materials. In tertiary education, compensation for teaching staff comprises just 34% of expenditure, given broader mandates like research and student services.
Notably, increasing compensation does not consistently improve job satisfaction among teachers, as TALIS data show no clear association. The findings underscore the challenges in reforming teaching pay within tight fiscal limits and highlight trade-offs between instructional spending and other education investments.
Follow the full report here: