Teacher salaries vary considerably across Europe, with Germany, Denmark and Iceland among the highest-paying countries, while several eastern and southern European nations remain near the bottom of the rankings. Differences persist even after accounting for the cost of living, raising concerns about the profession’s ability to attract and retain qualified staff.
The findings are based on the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2026 report, which compares teachers’ actual annual earnings across 28 European education systems. The figures cover full-time teachers aged 25 to 64 and include basic salaries, bonuses and other work-related payments before tax.
In 2025, average annual salaries for primary school teachers ranged from €18,669 in Turkey to €74,086 in Denmark. Iceland ranked second at €73,752, followed by Ireland at €69,747, Germany at €69,453 and Austria at €65,851.
Among Europe’s major economies, Germany recorded the highest salaries. Teachers in France earned an average of €41,968, while Italy ranked lowest at €32,100. Spain was not included in the available comparison.
Seven countries reported average primary teacher salaries below €25,000: Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Greece and Turkey.
Daniel Wisniewski, secretary general of the European Federation of Education Employers, said differences reflected national income levels, salary structures, qualifications and career progression. Taxation, social benefits and allowances also affected comparisons between countries.
Upper secondary teachers generally earned more than primary school teachers. Iceland recorded the highest average salary at this level, reaching €93,938, followed by Denmark at €85,999 and Germany at €80,163. In Iceland, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria and Germany, upper secondary teachers earned at least €10,000 more annually than their primary school counterparts.
However, nominal salaries do not fully reflect purchasing power because the cost of goods and services varies between countries. Euronews Business adjusted salaries using Eurostat purchasing power parities to compare how much teachers could buy with their earnings.
Germany remained at the top of the adjusted ranking, with primary school teachers earning an average of 64,143 purchasing power standards (PPS). Austria followed at 58,265 PPS, Denmark at 53,036 PPS, Ireland at 51,226 PPS and Belgium’s Flemish Community at 50,846 PPS.
Greece ranked last at 21,456 PPS, followed by Latvia, Slovakia, Czechia and Estonia. For upper secondary teachers, Germany again ranked first at 74,034 PPS, while Greece was last at 23,289 PPS.
Some countries moved substantially when salaries were adjusted for living costs. Turkey rose six places in the primary teacher ranking, while Poland gained five. Iceland fell from second place in nominal salaries to 12th after the adjustment.
Professor Mihails Hazans of the University of Latvia said differences were also influenced by social traditions, the strength of teachers’ unions and the workload covered by standard salaries.
The findings come as teacher pay and working conditions feature prominently in labour disputes across Europe, including protests in France. Wisniewski said teachers’ actual salaries across OECD countries averaged just 87% to 95% of the earnings of similarly educated workers.
Jelmer Evers, European director at the European Trade Union Committee for Education, called for teachers to receive pay comparable to other professionals with similar qualifications and responsibilities, arguing that their skills and contribution to society should be properly recognised.
