Teacher salaries in Greece suffered the largest decrease—in real terms—by 33% for the period 2005–2023 compared to 21 European countries, according to a report by Euronews.
Significant decreases over these 18 years were also recorded in Portugal (-13%), Italy (-12%), and the United Kingdom (-12%), while the European average was +7%. During the same period, the largest increase was seen in Turkey with 59%, followed by Poland (28%), Germany (16%), and Norway (15%).
The real salary reflects the purchasing power of the wage, showing how many goods and services an employee can buy with their salary.
Greece also ranked last regarding teacher salaries for the period 2013-2023, at -12%, followed by Luxembourg (-10%) and Ireland, Finland, and Italy (-7%), with the European average at +7%. During this decade, the largest salary increases were seen among teachers in Hungary (+45%), Turkey (+37%), the Czech Republic (+18%), and Slovakia (+18%).
Regarding salaries based on teachers’ purchasing power, in Greece the purchasing power of an early-career teacher ranks 25th out of 31 countries, after 10 years of service it rises to 20th, and after 15 years to 19th. Consistently at the top in terms of purchasing power, regardless of seniority, are Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Source: Euronews