More than 5.3 million people taught in primary and secondary schools across the EU in 2024, with nearly three-quarters of them women.
A total of 5.30 million teachers were working in schools in 2024, up by 36,500 compared with 2023, Eurostat informed on Monday.
Women accounted for 72.9% of teachers, while men made up 27.1%.
The teaching workforce was older on average, with 40.4% aged 50 or over and 8.0% aged under 30.
Teachers aged 30–34 made up 9.5% of the workforce and those aged 35–49 accounted for 11.6%.
Male teachers accounted for about 26% to 30% of most age groups, rising to 35.6% among those aged 65 and over, which Eurostat linked to differences in statutory retirement ages.
Which countries had the youngest and oldest teaching workforces?
More than half of all teachers were aged 50 or over in Lithuania (58.4%), Portugal (55.6%), Italy (54.3%), Latvia (54.0%) and Estonia (50.6%), Eurostat reported.
The lowest shares of teachers aged 50 or over were recorded in Ireland (20.8%), Malta (20.9%) and Luxembourg (22.0%).
Teachers under 30 made up the largest shares of the workforce in Luxembourg (15.3%), Denmark (15.2%), Belgium (14.9%) and Austria (14.6%).
The lowest proportions of under-30 teachers were in Cyprus (3.1%), Portugal (3.3%) and Poland (4.0%).
The figures were published to mark World Teachers’ Day on 5 October.
