World: Pupil-teacher ratio, upper secondary

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, World's pupil-teacher ratio, upper secondary rose 0.00632 on 2017 (from 17.15 to 17.16).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2017), the average change was +0.08 and a typical year strayed about 0.53 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 1.67 in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.55 in 1999. 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 upward, about 0.17 a year. A straight line explains 44% 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.

What this measures

Upper secondary school pupil-teacher ratio is the average number of pupils per teacher in upper 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 26 values

Pupil-teacher ratio, upper secondary in nearby economies

• Djibouti — 22.65 (2019)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 13.45 (2018)
• Jordan — 8.4 (2018)
• Lebanon — 8.04 (2016)
• Oman — 9.69 (2018)
• Pakistan — 28.99 (2018)
• Qatar — 10.37 (2018)
• West Bank and Gaza — 14.97 (2018)

More education data for World

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.12 (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 780.85 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 102.16% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 101.48% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 102.8% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 34.1 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 69.21% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 651.68 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is World's pupil-teacher ratio, upper secondary?

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

How has it changed since 1993?

It is up 13.13% from 15.17 in 1993 (0.49% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 17.95 in 2013 and the lowest 14.81 in 1996.

Is the latest change in pupil-teacher ratio, upper secondary unusual for World?

In 2018, World's pupil-teacher ratio, upper secondary rose 0.00632 on 2017 (from 17.15 to 17.16). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2017), the average change was +0.08 and a typical year strayed about 0.53 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.UP.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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