Teachers in England are relatively well paid when compared with school staff in other developed countries, a study has revealed.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) compared salaries in 36 countries and found that annual wages for experienced primary and secondary teachers in England were higher than the OECD average.

The average salary for a primary teacher after 15 years of work is #163;28,000 ($44,145), while the OECD average is #163;23,800 ($37,603). The corresponding average salary for secondary teachers in England is also #163;28,000 ($44,145), but #163;25,000 ($39,401) elsewhere. Teachers’ salaries in England are 99 per cent of the country’s full-time average, whereas teachers across the OECD nations earn 82 per cent of the national wage on average.

But England has a relatively flat wage structure compared with some countries: teachers’ pay is 46 per cent higher at the top of the scale than at the bottom, compared with an average potential pay rise across OECD nations of 58 per cent.

Change in primary teachers’ wages across their careers

Starting and top-of-scale salaries (in US dollars)

England

$30,204

$44,145

Sweden

$28,937

$38,696

Denmark

$43,393

$50,253

Korea

$26,776

$74,149

Portugal

$30,825

$54,158

Germany

$46,456

$61,209

Japan

$25,454

$56,543.