Trends in teachers' statutory teaching time since 2000 by country
This dataset contains a trend of statutory teaching time requirement since 2000. It covers full-time teachers in public institutions in pre-primary, primary, lower secondary education (general programmes) and upper secondary general programmes. The default table displays data in hours per year for teachers at the...
What the numbers show
Trends in teachers' statutory teaching time since 2000 is currently reported for 25 countries. The highest value is 1,755 Hours per year in Germany; the lowest is 505 Hours per year in Mexico.
The median across all reporting countries is 900 Hours per year, and the mean is 998.12 Hours per year.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 3.
Over the past decade 11 countries rose and 12 fell. The largest increase was in Germany (up 110.4%), and the largest decrease in Türkiye (down 16.9%).
Trends in teachers' statutory teaching time since 2000: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 1,755 Hours per year | 2023 | up 110.4% | rising |
| 1 | Latvia | 1,368 Hours per year | 2023 | up 8.6% | rising |
| 2 | Iceland | 1,445 Hours per year | 2023 | down 3.5% | falling |
| 2 | Estonia | 1,350 Hours per year | 2023 | up 2.3% | flat |
| 3 | Slovenia | 1,320 Hours per year | 2023 | up 0.5% | flat |
| 3 | Hungary | 1,312 Hours per year | 2023 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 4 | Czechia | 1,308 Hours per year | 2023 | up 12.2% | rising |
| 4 | Poland | 1,090 Hours per year | 2023 | up 0.9% | flat |
| 5 | Israel | 1,011 Hours per year | 2023 | down 2.0% | flat |
| 5 | Netherlands | 940 Hours per year | 2023 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 6 | Chile | 1,006 Hours per year | 2023 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 6 | Türkiye | 898 Hours per year | 2023 | down 16.9% | falling |
| 7 | Italy | 945 Hours per year | 2023 | up 1.6% | flat |
| 8 | France | 900 Hours per year | 2023 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 9 | Portugal | 885 Hours per year | 2023 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 10 | Luxembourg | 880 Hours per year | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 10 | Lithuania | 640 Hours per year | 2021 | up 1.9% | flat |
| 11 | Spain | 854 Hours per year | 2023 | down 3.0% | flat |
| 12 | Costa Rica | 812 Hours per year | 2023 | unchanged | flat |
| 13 | Austria | 779 Hours per year | 2013 | up 0.6% | flat |
| 14 | Switzerland | 769 Hours per year | 2023 | up 2.7% | rising |
| 15 | Australia | 768 Hours per year | 2021 | down 13.2% | falling |
| 16 | Colombia | 752 Hours per year | 2023 | down 6.0% | falling |
| 17 | Greece | 661 Hours per year | 2023 | down 3.4% | rising |
| 18 | Mexico | 505 Hours per year | 2023 | down 5.1% | flat |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Slovak Republic 1,182 Hours per year
- Korea 757 Hours per year
- Scotland 855 Hours per year
- French Community 766 Hours per year
- Flemish Community 704 Hours per year
About this data
This dataset contains a trend of statutory teaching time requirement since 2000. It covers full-time teachers in public institutions in pre-primary, primary, lower secondary education (general programmes) and upper secondary general programmes. The default table displays data in hours per year for teachers at the primary level. The selection can be changed to display data on different years and on different levels of education. Additional details regarding sources for data and the methodology used and specific notes for countries can be found in the accompanying document Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes. For more information, please consult Education at a Glance. Data for the latest available year are preliminary. Final data will be released on 29 September 2026.