England has the highest ratio of pupils to teachers among EU member nations, according to a comparison between government workforce statistics and data compiled by School Diaries from the World Bank.

Last year, the number of pupils per teacher in England was 21.1 in primary schools and 16.1 in secondary schools. This means that there are more than twice as many pupils per teacher in schools in England than in countries such as Luxembourg, which in 2012 had ratios of 8.4 in primary and 7.9 in secondary.

Schools in France also have a high pupil-teacher ratio. In 2013, the number of pupils per teacher in primary was 18.2, while at secondary, it was 12.9.

The pupil-teacher ratio in Scotland is lower than in England. Last year, the average number of pupils per teacher was 16.7 in primary schools and 12.2 in secondary schools.

Number of pupils per teacher in EU countries (most recent year)

  Primary Secondary Austria 10.7 9.7 Belgium 11.1 9.4 Bulgaria 17.7 13.2 Croatia 13.7 7.8 Cyprus 13.4 9.7 Czech Republic 18.9 11.5 England 21.1 16.1 Estonia 11.5 8.4 Finland 13.2 12.7 France 18.2 12.9 Germany 11.6 12.6 Greece 9.2 7.9 Hungary 10.4 10.4 Italy 12.0 11.4 Latvia 11.2 8.3 Lithuania 12.6 8.1 Luxembourg 8.4 7.9 Malta 11.3 7.8 Netherlands 11.7 14.1 Poland 10.2 9.5 Portugal 12.8 9.8 Romania 17.6 12.8 Scotland 16.7 12.2 Slovak Republic 15.1 11.2 Slovenia 16.9 10.1 Spain 12.6 11.4 Sweden 9.7 9.5

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