Teacher-to-student ratio, primary education (pupils per teacher)

The primary-education pupil–teacher ratio measures how many enrolled primary students there are for every teacher in the primary level. It is widely used as a proxy for classroom crowding and the intensity of human resources available for early learning (though it is not the same as average class size, because it is based on staffing and enrollment totals).

Countries with high ratios often face challenges such as teacher shortages, rapid enrollment growth, or constrained education budgets, while very low ratios can reflect higher staffing levels, smaller systems, or demographic decline. Because countries report different “latest years,” the figures below are best used for cross-country comparison rather than as a single-year snapshot.