Lisbon, Sept. 29, 2026 (Lusa) - Portuguese teachers are the most dissatisfied with their salaries when compared with their counterparts in other OECD countries, according to the latest edition of «Education at a Glance 2026».
«Education systems are only as strong as their teachers,» argues Mathias Cornmann, leader of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in the editorial published in the international study, which focuses on the global teacher shortage.
Only 13.4% of Portuguese teachers are satisfied with their salary, according to the OECD study, which places Portugal at the bottom of this table.
Portuguese teachers are also among those who complain most about their working conditions: whilst 68.4% of teachers across the OECD are satisfied with their working conditions, in Portugal the figure is just 39.1%. Only Japanese teachers fare worse than their Portuguese counterparts, according to the report published on Tuesday.
The situation is very different from that in the neighbouring country, where 71.5% of Spanish secondary school teachers are satisfied with their employment conditions and 54.2% with their pay.
But these are not the only problems highlighted in the study. In Portugal, starting salaries have fallen by 10% over the last decade, whilst across the OECD, teachers are earning, on average, 20% more than they did in 2015. The researchers believe this data may help explain the recruitment difficulties.
However, the researchers believe that there will soon be less need for teachers, as there are fewer children aged between 10 and 14 in the vast majority of Portugal's smaller regions.
The study also shows that there has been a slight increase in the number of teachers – between 2015 and 2024, the figure rose by 1% for years 1–7 – whilst the number of pupils fell by 8%, according to official data that has led the OECD to project a 6% reduction in children aged 5 to 14 in Portugal between 2024 and 2033.
The decline in the number of children leads researchers to conclude that there may be «less demand for teachers, should other policies remain unchanged».
However, for the time being, the shortage of teachers in the Lisbon, Setúbal and Algarve regions continues to leave thousands of pupils without lessons, with the ministry of education developing various initiatives to attract young people to the profession and to encourage older teachers to postpone retirement.
The shortage of teachers is a global problem that takes different forms depending on the country.
The study highlights various aspects of this shortage: some countries are struggling with unfilled vacancies, whilst others are relying on teachers who do not have all the necessary qualifications or are trying to tackle the ageing of the teaching workforce and the profession's lack of appeal.
Portugal stands out for experiencing a wide range of these problems, from an ageing workforce and difficulties in recruiting young teachers to replace older ones, to low job satisfaction and low pay, as well as a decline in salaries for those early in their careers.
The figures place Portugal, alongside Greece, as the countries facing the most serious ageing problems, given that, on average across the OECD, 20% of secondary school teachers are under 35.
In 2024, 38% of year 7–9 teachers in Portuguese schools were over 55 years old, compared with an average of 25% across OECD countries that provided data.
On the other hand, only 6% were under 35, according to the study, which confirms previously known figures.
SIM/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
