Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean: Primary education, teachers was 3.34 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
3.34 million
Change on year
up 2.8%
Rank
27th
of 43 groups
All-time high
3.34 million
in 2024
All-time low
1.41 million
in 1971
Years of data
55
1970–2024

Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2024

01.0M2.0M3.0M197019972024

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Analysis

In 2024, primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean stood at 3.34 million. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.

The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 3.34 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.41 million, in 1971.

That places Latin America & Caribbean 27th out of 43 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.

Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year

Annual values for Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1970 1.51 million
1971 1.41 million -6.7%
1972 1.45 million +3.0%
1973 1.50 million +3.4%
1974 1.55 million +3.3%
1975 1.58 million +1.8%
1976 1.60 million +1.6%
1977 1.67 million +4.1%
1978 1.73 million +3.5%
1979 1.82 million +5.4%
1980 1.87 million +2.7%
1981 1.91 million +2.2%
1982 2.01 million +4.8%
1983 2.02 million +0.6%
1984 2.09 million +3.7%
1985 2.14 million +2.4%
1986 2.13 million -0.9%
1987 2.23 million +5.0%
1988 2.32 million +3.9%
1989 2.32 million +0.1%
1990 2.41 million +3.8%
1991 2.38 million -1.1%
1992 2.45 million +2.9%
1993 2.51 million +2.4%
1994 2.59 million +3.0%
1995 2.48 million -4.1%
1996 2.54 million +2.5%
1997 2.76 million +8.6%
1998 2.56 million -7.1%
1999 2.74 million +6.9%
2000 2.79 million +1.9%
2001 2.89 million +3.4%
2002 2.94 million +1.8%
2003 2.95 million +0.6%
2004 2.96 million +0.0%
2005 2.98 million +0.7%
2006 2.85 million -4.3%
2007 2.91 million +2.3%
2008 2.94 million +0.8%
2009 2.95 million +0.5%
2010 2.97 million +0.5%
2011 2.99 million +0.7%
2012 3.02 million +1.0%
2013 3.07 million +1.8%
2014 3.08 million +0.2%
2015 3.08 million -0.0%
2016 3.07 million -0.1%
2017 3.08 million +0.3%
2018 3.10 million +0.5%
2019 3.10 million +0.2%
2020 3.09 million -0.4%
2021 3.09 million -0.0%
2022 3.16 million +2.1%
2023 3.24 million +2.7%
2024 3.34 million +2.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.58 million 1.41 million 1.82 million 10
1980s 2.10 million 1.87 million 2.32 million 10
1990s 2.54 million 2.38 million 2.76 million 10
2000s 2.92 million 2.79 million 2.98 million 10
2010s 3.06 million 2.97 million 3.10 million 10
2020s 3.18 million 3.09 million 3.34 million 5

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 24 Germany 283,851 compare
  2. 25 Kenya 281,500 compare
  3. 26 United Kingdom 281,128 compare
  4. 27 Malaysia 273,792 compare
  5. 28 Italy 250,961 compare
  6. 29 Spain 248,253 compare
  7. 30 Algeria 247,748 compare

See the full ranking of 249 places →

More education data for Latin America & Caribbean

All data for Latin America & Caribbean →

Frequently asked questions

What is primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean?
Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean was 3.34 million in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest primary education, teachers recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 3.34 million in 2024.
What is the lowest primary education, teachers recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 1.41 million in 1971.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for primary education, teachers?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 27th out of 43 groups with data for 2024.
Is primary education, teachers rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Primary education, teachers. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/primary-education-teachers/latin-america-and-caribbean/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/primary-education-teachers/latin-america-and-caribbean/">Primary education, teachers in Latin America & Caribbean</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Primary education, teachers
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
249 places, 9,469 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Primary education, teachers refers to the total number of teachers at primary level, including full-time and part-time teachers.