Teachers' salaries: Which countries pay the most and the least in Europe?

Teachers are often hailed as heroes that are to be celebrated, but in many countries, there’s oftenn little cause for celebration for teachers to be unhappy.

In Hungary, thousands of teachers have again marched in Budapest calling for higher salaries and urgent reforms from the government following strikes in September. Around 50 teachers have even been fired for "civil disobedience" after staging walkouts.

It's part of a wider picture of malaise in education, with a growing teacher shortage spreading across Europe. In France, there are currently 4,000 vacancies, with the latest estimates in Germany suggesting a shortfall of 25,000 teachers by 2025.

The situation is largely due to working conditions, including stagnant wages that are being exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.

So, how much are teachers paid in Europe? Which countries pay teachers the most and the least? And how much have teacher salaries changed in the last decade?

There are significant differences in teacher salaries across European countries.

The official annual gross starting salaries in public schools in lower secondary education (ISCED 2) ranged from around €4,233 in Albania to €69,076 in Luxembourg in 2020/2021, according to country data compiled by the European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice.

The average pay for teachers across European Union (EU) countries is €25,055.

Leaving aside Luxembourg, the annual starting salary was above €50,000 in just two countries, namely Switzerland (€66,972) and Germany (€54,129).

The annual salary in France and Italy was less than half the German figure.

Bulgaria had the lowest annual starting teacher salary among EU countries, at €7,731. The figure is also below €10,000 in several other EU countries such as Latvia,