Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary fell 0.02 on 2017 (from 18.41 to 18.39).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2017), the average change was −0.00427 and a typical year strayed about 0.57 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.4 in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.09 in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.08 a year. A straight line explains 65% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Lower secondary school pupil-teacher ratio is the average number of pupils per teacher in lower secondary school.

Limitations: The comparability of pupil-teacher ratios across countries is affected by the definition of teachers and by differences in class size by grade and in the number of hours taught, as well as the different practices countries employ such as part-time teachers, school shifts, and multi-grade classes. Moreover, the underlying enrollment levels are subject to a variety of reporting errors.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 22 values

Pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 33.87 (2018)
• Djibouti — 29.96 (2019)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 16.77 (2018)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 21.33 (2017)
• Israel — 15.12 (2016)
• Lebanon — 7.4 (2016)
• Oman — 10.37 (2018)
• Pakistan — 16.43 (2018)
• Qatar — 11.66 (2018)
• Tunisia — 13.63 (2018)
• United Arab Emirates

More education data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 55.17 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 2.79 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 77.53% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 57.82 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 3.86 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers, female — 2.26 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary?

18.39 in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is down 0.57% from 18.5 in 1997. The highest value was 20 in 1999 and the lowest 17.89 in 2005.

Is the latest change in pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary unusual for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?

In 2018, Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary fell 0.02 on 2017 (from 18.41 to 18.39). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2017), the average change was −0.00427 and a typical year strayed about 0.57 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.LO.TC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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