According to OECD data, teachers generally earn less than workers with a comparable level of education, and experts warn that their salaries are not competitive enough to attract and retain staff.
From €18,669 in Turkey to €74,086 in Denmark
According to the OECD’s ‘Education at a Glance 2026’ report, in the 28 education systems compared, the annual salary of primary school teachers in 2025 ranged from €18,669 in Turkey to €74,086 in Denmark.
Actual salaries refer to the average annual pre-tax earnings of full-time teachers aged between 25 and 64. These include all work-related payments: basic salary, performance-related bonuses, holiday pay and other allowances.
Iceland (€73,752), Ireland (€69,747), Germany (€69,453) and Austria (€65,851) round off the top five countries where primary school teachers earn over €65,000.
Teachers in Norway (€59,453), the Flemish Community of Belgium (€59,105), Northern Ireland (€57,838), Scotland (€57,619), the French Community of Belgium (€55,689), Wales (€52,894), Finland (€52,272) and England (€50,727) also earn more than €50,000.
Among Europe’s largest economies, teachers’ salaries are highest in Germany. The UK follows Germany, with earnings above 50,000 euros. In France, teachers earn 41,968 euros, whilst Italy brings up the rear with 32,100 euros. No data is available for Spain.
In several countries, the figure is less than 25,000 euros: the Czech Republic (€24,457), Hungary (€23,181), Slovakia (€22,936), Romania (€20,805), Latvia (€20,516), Greece (€18,746) and Turkey (€18,669).
“Significant differences in teachers’ pay across Europe reflect variations in national income levels, pay structures, qualification requirements and career progression,” Euronews quotes Daniel Wisniewski, Secretary-General of the European Federation of Education Employers, as saying. “Differences in taxation, social security contributions and benefits also complicate comparisons between countries.”
Secondary school teachers generally earn more than their colleagues in primary schools. Salaries for upper secondary school teachers range from €17,615 in Turkey to €93,938 in Iceland. In Denmark (€85,999) and Germany (€80,163), they exceed €80,000.
What can teachers afford on their salaries?
Nominal salaries alone do not give the full picture. If prices are high in a country, even a high salary may buy less than in another country.
To account for differences in the cost of living, Euronews Business has adjusted the OECD’s salary data in national currencies using Eurostat’s purchasing power parities for final household consumption expenditure.
The results are expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS) – a common unit that allows for the purchase of the same volume of goods and services in each country. According to this methodology, teachers in Germany have the highest purchasing power; their gross salary allows them to buy the most goods and services.
Germany is followed by Austria (58,265 PPS), Denmark (53,036 PPS), Ireland (51,226 PPS) and the Flemish Community of Belgium (50,846 PPS), which rounds off the top five education systems where primary school teachers’ salaries provide the highest purchasing power.
At the bottom of the ranking, Greece is joined by Latvia (24,670 PPS), Slovakia (26,916 PPS), the Czech Republic (27,349 PPS) and Estonia (28,197 PPS).
Germany also ranks first in terms of the purchasing power of secondary school teachers – 74,034 PPS – whilst Greece remains in last place – 23,289 PPS.
Among the largest European economies, Italy performs the worst, with 36,964 PPS.
This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.
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