Teacher pay in Europe: Germany leads in purchasing power, while southern and eastern nations lag

Teacher salaries vary dramatically across Europe, with primary school teachers in Denmark earning four times more than their counterparts in Turkey, according to a new OECD report. The data, covering 28 education systems, shows actual salaries for primary teachers in 2025 ranged from €18,669 in Turkey to €74,086 in Denmark. These figures represent annual average earnings before taxes and include base pay, bonuses, and holiday allowances.

The top five countries for primary teacher pay are all above €65,000: Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Germany, and Austria. Among Europe’s largest economies, Germany pays its teachers the most, followed by the four UK nations, all of which exceed €50,000. France falls behind at €41,968, while Italy sits at the lower end with €32,100. Seven countries pay below €25,000, including Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Greece, and Turkey.

Purchasing power reveals different leaders

Adjusting for price levels using purchasing power standards (PPS) changes the picture. Germany emerges as the top payer for primary teachers with 64,143 PPS, followed by Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Belgium’s Flemish Community. Greece ranks lowest at 21,456 PPS. Daniel Wisniewski, secretary general of the European Federation of Education Employers, noted that even after adjusting for living costs, sizeable differences remain. He said national pay policies, qualification requirements, career scales, experience, and earnings in alternative graduate professions contribute significantly to the gap.

Professor Mihails Hazans from the University of Latvia observed that countries topping the PPS rankings also have GDP per capita well above the EU average. He attributed the differences to traditions, social norms, strength of teachers’ trade unions, and actual workload covered by statutory salaries. Comparing nominal and PPS rankings, Turkey and Poland rise significantly for primary teachers, while Iceland drops from second to twelfth place.

Upper secondary teachers earn more

Upper secondary teachers generally earn more than primary teachers, except in Turkey and Northern Ireland. Salaries are the same at both levels in Scotland, Lithuania, and Estonia. The range for upper secondary spans from €17,615 in Turkey to €93,938 in Iceland. Denmark and Germany also pay over €80,000 at this level. The largest gaps favouring upper secondary teachers are found in Iceland, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, and Germany, where they earn at least €10,000 more than primary teachers.

In purchasing power terms, Germany again tops the upper secondary list with 74,034 PPS, while Greece is lowest at 23,289 PPS. Among Europe’s largest economies, Italy ranks last at 36,964 PPS. The three UK nations follow Germany, but England falls below France in PPS terms.

Competitiveness concerns persist

Wisniewski warned that teacher pay is not consistently competitive enough to attract and retain teachers across Europe. He pointed out that across OECD countries, teachers’ actual salaries at primary and general secondary levels average only 87–95% of earnings of tertiary-educated workers. Jelmer Evers, European director of the European Trade Union Committee for Education, argued that teachers should be paid at least as much as other workers with comparable qualifications and responsibilities, reflecting the complexity and societal importance of the profession. Recent protests in France have highlighted demands for higher pay, more staff, and better working conditions. These concerns echo a wider European challenge: making teaching financially attractive amid persistent salary gaps and competitive pressures from other graduate professions.