UIS · Qualified Teachers in Primary Education
Qualified primary teachers by country
What share of primary teachers meet their country's minimum qualification?
Of the 81 countries compared in 2024, 24 countries shared the highest reading, 100.000%, and Gibraltar had the lowest reading, 0.000%. In the middle country the figure was 93.657%.
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Part ofEducation & Knowledge
Qualified primary teachers · 2024
Context statistic
24 countries share the highest value, 100.000% — no single country is named first.
012024 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 81 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
Highest in 2024 · shared
24 countries share the highest reading, 100.000%
No single country is named first: picking one from a shared value would be a choice the data does not make.
Lowest in 2024
Gibraltar0.000%
Puerto Rico25.020%
Chad29.445%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
Highest on each continent
- Africa
4 countries share 100.000%
- Americas
Cayman Islands100.000% - Asia
12 countries share 100.000%
- Europe
3 countries share 100.000%
- Oceania
4 countries share 100.000%
- Every region
02Every measured country
Qualified primary teachers on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 0.000–77.107%
- 77.877–89.373%
- 89.554–97.374%
- 97.492–100.000%
- No reading in 2024 (79 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
99.496%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 49 members
3 share 100.000%
Gibraltar0.000%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Asia
97.457%
the middle country, of 30 measured · 52 members
12 share 100.000%
Indonesia33.510%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Oceania
93.036%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 21 members
4 share 100.000%
Marshall Islands50.569%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Africa
90.411%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 55 members
4 share 100.000%
Chad29.445%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Americas
88.956%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 48 members
Cayman Islands100.000%Puerto Rico25.020%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Every region
19 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Western Asia
100.000%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 19 members
5 share 100.000%
Syria38.281%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Eastern Africa
94.767%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 19 members
Mauritius100.000%
Rwanda67.567%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Southern Asia
91.726%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Bhutan100.000%
Pakistan74.968%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
91.633%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
3 share 100.000%
Indonesia33.510%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Africa
89.584%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 16 members
Côte d’Ivoire100.000%
Sierra Leone69.844%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Caribbean
86.568%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 24 members
Cayman Islands100.000%Puerto Rico25.020%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central America
2 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Belize, El Salvador.
El Salvador97.492%
Belize88.666%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
2 share 100.000%
Kyrgyzstan95.542%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
4 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, South Korea.
South Korea100.000%
Mongolia86.101%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
3 of 10 measured — too few for a middle: Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine.
Moldova100.000%
Ukraine89.898%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Melanesia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Vanuatu.
Fiji89.150%
Vanuatu51.744%Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau.
2 share 100.000%
Marshall Islands50.569%Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Middle Africa
1 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Chad.
Chad29.445%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Africa
3 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco.
2 share 100.000%
Egypt87.119%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Polynesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Tuvalu.
2 share 100.000%
Tuvalu60.204%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- South America
4 of 12 measured — too few for a middle: Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela.
Bolivia93.657%
Guyana82.212%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Southern Africa
1 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Namibia.
Namibia95.410%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Southern Europe
3 of 17 measured — too few for a middle: Andorra, Gibraltar, San Marino.
2 share 100.000%
Gibraltar0.000%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Europe
1 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Monaco.
Monaco80.000%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
03The whole field at once
The spread
81 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 93.657%; a quarter are above 100.000%, and a quarter below 82.212%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 160 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. The standard is national, so this measures whether teachers meet their own country’s rule, not whether they are better qualified than teachers elsewhere: two countries at 100% may be meeting very different bars. Many countries report exactly 100%, so no position is derived.
Showing 25 of 160 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051999–2024 · 25 editions
Over time
Each point is one edition. Countries report in most years but not all, so a line can have gaps.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 81 | 93.657% | 82.212% – 100.000% |
| 2023 | 98 | 91.030% | 75.532% – 100.000% |
| 2022 | 92 | 95.615% | 79.224% – 100.000% |
| 2021 | 99 | 96.149% | 82.180% – 100.000% |
| 2020 | 95 | 96.631% | 82.566% – 100.000% |
| 2019 | 97 | 95.982% | 84.277% – 100.000% |
| 2018 | 87 | 96.024% | 85.695% – 100.000% |
| 2017 | 84 | 97.105% | 85.446% – 100.000% |
| 2016 | 87 | 95.742% | 83.306% – 100.000% |
| 2015 | 88 | 93.887% | 81.353% – 100.000% |
| 2014 | 91 | 92.151% | 79.888% – 100.000% |
| 2013 | 73 | 90.120% | 79.147% – 99.552% |
| 2012 | 82 | 94.172% | 77.542% – 99.566% |
| 2011 | 89 | 89.853% | 68.481% – 99.834% |
| 2010 | 74 | 90.754% | 68.852% – 99.585% |
| 2009 | 82 | 92.459% | 69.386% – 99.864% |
| 2008 | 83 | 91.467% | 73.120% – 99.241% |
| 2007 | 80 | 93.434% | 77.554% – 99.805% |
| 2006 | 67 | 92.007% | 77.883% – 99.351% |
| 2005 | 66 | 90.787% | 73.772% – 98.888% |
| 2004 | 61 | 89.492% | 72.200% – 99.602% |
| 2003 | 58 | 86.015% | 70.149% – 99.392% |
| 2001 | 61 | 89.399% | 74.846% – 99.813% |
| 2000 | 54 | 87.261% | 69.812% – 99.342% |
| 1999 | 51 | 80.997% | 71.624% – 98.500% |
062023 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Niue5.556% → 100.000%+94.444
Nauru16.129% → 100.000%+83.871
San Marino34.818% → 100.000%+65.182
Turks and Caicos Islands80.075% → 99.265%+19.190- Guyana66.238% → 82.212%+15.973
75 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2024. The field changed from 98 to 81 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Qualified primary teachers in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
Reached 514 times by 64 countries — shared, so no holder is named
100.000%
Primary teachers with the minimum qualifications their country requires (%)
Lowest reading on record
0.000%
Primary teachers with the minimum qualifications their country requires (%)
Biggest improvement between editions
+94.444
5.556% → 100.000%
Biggest decline between editions
−94.444
100.000% → 5.556%
Most improved since first measured
+81.088
15.000% → 96.088%
08By sex
Inside the number
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) also publishes separate female and male readings. The gap between them, where both exist.
Of the 78 countries with both readings, the female reading is higher in 35, the male reading in 19, and they are equal in 24. The widest gaps each way:
09The measure
About qualified primary teachers
This is the share of primary-school teachers who hold at least the minimum qualification their own country requires of them — SDG indicator 4.c.1. It describes the teaching workforce rather than the pupils.
What the number is: Primary teachers with the minimum qualifications their country requires (%).
10Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Education & Knowledge, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where qualified primary teachers is higher, these tend to be higher too.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Moves against
Where qualified primary teachers is higher, these tend to be lower.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 26 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
11Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
12Questions
Qualified primary teachers: questions and answers
Which country has the highest qualified primary teachers?
24 countries share the highest reading, 100.000%, among the 81 compared in 2024, so no single country is named.
Which country has the lowest qualified primary teachers?
Gibraltar, at 0.000%, among the 81 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Qualified Teachers in Primary Education cover?
81 in 2024, and 160 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 51 to 99 between editions.
What is the world average qualified primary teachers?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 81 compared in 2024, the figure was 93.657%.
Is this UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Qualified Teachers in Primary Education published?
This site holds 25 editions, describing 1999 to 2024.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), under CC BY-SA 4.0. From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (TRTP.1), reported by countries through UIS’s annual Survey of Formal Education. Editions reporting fewer than 50 countries are not written. The same share among women and among men teachers is stored beside the headline. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
13Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Qualified Teachers in Primary Education — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (TRTP.1), reported by countries through UIS’s annual Survey of Formal Education. Editions reporting fewer than 50 countries are not written. The same share among women and among men teachers is stored beside the headline.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. UIS Data Browser. Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Qualified primary teachers by country: Qualified Teachers in Primary Education, data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/qualified-teachers-primary