Average actual salaries of all tertiary staff on academic career tracks are similar to the earnings of tertiary-educated workers, but differences vary by seniority. On average, the earnings of junior staff are 18% below those for tertiary educated workers, while those for senior staff are 50% above it.
Among the 18 countries and economies with available information, the statutory salaries of tertiary academic staff vary widely within systems. On average, maximum salaries are more than two times higher than minimum salaries (USD 103 519 compared with USD 39 847).
In most countries, salaries are decided by central authorities, which usually set statutory salaries, or by institutions themselves. The countries and economies where salary decisions are made by tertiary institutions or other local authorities tend not to have statutory salaries for academic staff.
Education at a Glance 2025
Context
Over recent decades, enrolment in tertiary education programmes has risen substantially across OECD countries, driving increased investment in higher education systems. This expansion has placed growing demands on institutions to build and maintain infrastructure, enhance academic offerings and, most critically, attract and retain a highly qualified academic workforce. As highlighted in Chapters C1 and C5, these trends are reflected in rising expenditure on tertiary education, with staff salaries representing the largest single component of education expenditure.
In this context, the competitiveness of academic salaries plays a central role in ensuring that institutions can recruit and retain high-quality educators and researchers. Although salary levels are a key determinant in career decisions, they are only part of a broader equation. The appeal of an academic career also depends on factors such as research autonomy, recognition and collaboration opportunities, and the balance between teaching, research and administrative responsibilities. Nevertheless, as policy makers and the public increasingly scrutinise the sustainability of tertiary education systems, understanding salary structures and trends is essential to addressing long-term workforce planning and academic excellence.
Who determines salaries
Central/State = Central/state government or top-level authorities
Prov/Reg = Provincial/regional authorities or sub-regional/inter-municipal authorities
Local = Local authorities
Institutions = tertiary institutions
More than one = More than one authority level
Collective = Collective agreement
Individual = Individual negotiation
For data, see Table D7.1. For a link to download the data, see Tables and Notes section.
Other findings
On average across OECD countries and economies, actual salaries range from USD 61 958 for junior staff, to USD 73 682 for intermediate staff and USD 108 255 for senior staff. Staff not on an academic career track tend to earn less. In six out of ten countries with data available, their salaries are lower than those of junior academic staff.
Actual salaries are slightly higher for men than women on average across countries with available data. However, the gender gap among staff at the same seniority level is usually small and does not exceed 10%. For all tertiary academic staff combined, the difference in actual salaries between men and women is larger, suggesting that men tend to hold more senior positions and hence earn higher salaries.
In contrast to teachers in primary and secondary levels, the compensation structure for academic staff incorporates additional allowances related to personal performance and academic output, since additional responsibilities for research and administration are more common.
Note
Statutory salaries are just one component of the total compensation of tertiary academic staff. Other benefits, such as regional allowances for teaching in remote areas, family allowances, reduced rates on public transport and tax allowances on the purchase of instructional materials may also form part of their total remuneration. In addition, there are large differences in taxation and social benefits systems across OECD countries. There can also be substantial variation in salary scales at subnational level in some countries, based on local factors such as the cost of living. This should be kept in mind when analysing salaries and making cross-country comparisons, along with potential comparability issues related to the data collected (Education at a Glance 2025 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes - (https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en)) and the fact that the data collected only cover public institutions.
All figures expressed in USD are converted from national currencies based on exchange rates that are adjusted for differences in purchasing power across countries (see Methodology section).
Salaries of tertiary academic staff can vary according to different factors, including their experience and their level of responsibilities. These elements also reflect the seniority of their position (Box D7.1). Their field of expertise and the type of tertiary institutions where they teach can also influence compensation; for example, prestigious tertiary institutions may offer higher pay. Performance and contributions to research and publications are also key for progression and promotion to higher grades or more senior positions and may further differentiate salaries. These factors distinguish academic teaching careers from those at lower levels of education, where salary levels mostly depend on how long they have been teaching.
As in primary and secondary levels of education (see Chapter D3), academic attainment can play a role in determining the level of salaries but tends to have less of an impact than at lower levels, as most academic staff in tertiary education have a doctorate or are enrolled in a doctoral programme.
This comparative analysis focuses on staff in public tertiary institutions whose main activity is teaching (by organising or conducting activities related to furthering students’ knowledge). It excludes tertiary staff mostly involved in research activities and those working in tertiary private institutions.
Whereas base salaries of primary and secondary teachers in public institutions are mostly related to the number of years of experience of teachers and their qualification levels (see Chapter D3), the structures for determining the salaries of tertiary staff with some teaching responsibilities are markedly different across countries. As is the case for primary and secondary teachers, countries use national salary schedules as a basis for determining the salaries of tertiary staff with teaching (and research) activities but in many countries and economies, individual institutions also have the ability to modify these payment levels. The criteria used to set tertiary staff salaries include educational attainment and length of experience, but also academic rank, field(s) of instruction and research experience.
To ensure the comparability of information on salaries of tertiary staff, data on salaries have been collected based on an agreed international classification of tertiary staff involved in instruction activities. This classification takes into consideration differences in the types of positions or grades across countries (based on the educational attainment, main functions, status and career perspectives, and compensation) and also the availability of data in order to avoid having such narrow categories that information would only be available from a few countries.
This classification includes different categories of staff involved in instruction, primarily distinguishing between tertiary academic staff and teaching and research assistants. Within the academic staff category, junior, intermediate and senior staff are distinguished from employed doctoral candidates and from academic staff not on an academic career track:
Junior: Entry grades/posts into which an individual would normally be recruited to begin their academic career. Staff allocated to this category must hold similar qualifications, pay range and level of responsibilities, although the nature of their responsibilities may differ. This excludes doctoral candidates. Examples are assistant professor (the United States), lecturer (the United States), professeurs agrégés (France), junior researcher and post-doctoral researcher.
Intermediate: Staff pursuing an academic career working in positions not as senior as the top position but more senior than entry-level positions. Examples are associate professor (the United States), maître de conférences (France) and senior researcher.
Senior: The highest grades/posts for academic staff pursuing an academic career in either instruction or research. Staff allocated to this category must hold similar qualifications, pay range and level of responsibilities, although the nature of their responsibilities may differ. It is possible to have one grade/post per career track if relevant (i.e. if the tracks are clearly separate). Examples are full professor (the United States), professeur titulaire et corps assimilés (France) and director of research.
Employed doctoral candidates: Doctoral candidates employed full or part-time by their institution during their doctoral degree.
Other academic staff not on academic track: Instructional and research personnel who are not considered to be on the academic career track. Examples are adjunct professors and fellows. This group excludes doctoral candidates and teaching and research assistants.
Information on the positions associated with the different categories of tertiary academic staff in each country is available in Education at a Glance 2025 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en).
Decision-making levels determining salaries
In public tertiary institutions providing bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees or equivalent, the salaries of tertiary academic staff on academic career track are decided at the central or state level in about half the countries and economies with available data (14 out of 31) and at the level of the institutions in almost one-quarter (7 out of 31). Among the remaining countries, salaries are decided based on collective agreements or jointly by bodies at different decision-making levels. For example, In Korea the central level sets base wages for tertiary staff in public universities, but these universities have the freedom to implement additional wages. In Germany, around one-quarter of staff are civil servants whose salaries are determined at the level of Länder, while three-quarters of staff are public employees whose salaries are determined by collective agreements (Figure D7.1 and Table D7.1).
Two-thirds of these countries and economies (21 out of 31) also reported information on the level of the authorities determining the salaries of other academic staff not on academic career track (in most of the other countries, no staff were in this category). In most of these, the same level of authority determines salaries for all academic staff, whether they are on an academic track or not. However, in a few countries, a lower level of authority determines the salaries of other academic staff not on an academic career track. In France, Italy and Portugal, staff salaries are decided at the central level for academic staff on an academic career track, but by tertiary institutions for other academic staff. This usually results from the fact that these staff are hired on short-term contracts (Figure D7.1 and Table D7.1).
Fewer countries and economies (15 out of 31) also have information on the level of authorities that determine the salaries of staff in tertiary institutions providing short-cycle tertiary programmes. In these countries, decisions are most frequently made by central/state authorities or tertiary institutions, and these two levels of authorities make decisions on salaries in a similar number of countries for all types of staff, whether they are on academic track or not. There are also few differences in the authority levels taking decisions on salaries for tertiary institutions offering short-cycle programmes or bachelor, master’s, and doctoral degrees or equivalent programmes. Where both types of institutions exist in a country, the decision levels tend to be the same. For example, salaries in Iceland are determined by collective agreement for all public tertiary institutions, whatever the type of programmes delivered in these institutions while in Japan salaries are always determined at the level of the tertiary institution (Figure D7.1 and Table D7.1).
Statutory salaries for tertiary academic staff
Existence of statutory salary scales
Among countries and economies with available information, 21 report that they have statutory salaries for academic staff in tertiary institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes and 11 report having statutory salaries for staff in institutions providing short-cycle tertiary programmes (for staff on academic career track and/or not on academic career track). As might be expected, the existence of salary scales for tertiary academic staff in public institutions is related to the level of authorities determining the salaries. All countries in which central authorities take decisions on the salaries of tertiary academic staff in tertiary institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes have statutory salaries for these staff. This is also the case for staff in tertiary institutions providing short-cycle tertiary programmes. Generally, in countries where statutory salaries are implemented in institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes, they are also implemented for institutions providing short-cycle tertiary programmes, since the authorities responsible for deciding salaries are the same for both (Table D7.1).
However, statutory salaries are also defined in some countries where decisions on salaries of tertiary academic staff are not solely made at the central level. In Finland, Iceland and the Netherlands, statutory salaries are decided by collective agreements. In Brazil, Germany and Spain statutory salaries are decided at multiple levels, due to their federal or decentralised systems.
Level of statutory salaries
Statutory salaries of tertiary academic staff vary widely across and within countries, when the range between minimum and maximum statutory salaries is considered. However, these differences should be interpreted with caution as very few staff might be on the minimum or maximum statutory salaries in some countries.
In tertiary institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes, statutory salaries of staff on academic career track (at all levels of seniority combined) range from a minimum of USD 39 847 to a maximum of USD 103 519 on average across the 18 countries and economies with available information. However, these average values hide much larger differences between the minimum and maximum salaries in some countries. Maximum salaries are 60% higher than minimum salaries in Slovenia (USD 53 623 compared with USD 85 853), but are around four times or more the minimum in Brazil (from USD 28 779 to USD 120 092) and Spain (from USD 37 336 to USD 146 898) (Table D7.2).
In these institutions, the differences between minimum and maximum statutory salaries are much smaller for staff who are not on academic career track in the few countries with available data. The maximum statutory salary is less than 45% higher than the minimum in four countries with available information (Greece, Hungary, Iceland and Romania) (Table D7.2).
In tertiary institutions providing short-cycle tertiary programmes, the range between minimum and maximum statutory salaries of staff on an academic career track are similar to those in institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes. Among the seven countries with available data, maximum statutory salaries are 35% higher than the minimum in Colombia (from USD 28 905 to USD 39 141) but over four times the minimum in Brazil (USD 28 779 to USD 120 092), where the range of statutory salaries is the same for both types of public tertiary institutions (Table D7.2).
Statutory salaries by seniority level
Minimum and maximum salaries, as well as the range between them, can also vary depending on the seniority of tertiary academic staff (on an academic career track). Minimum and maximum salaries differ between seniority levels in most countries with available information on the statutory salaries of staff on academic career track in tertiary institution providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes.
In some countries, the minimum and maximum salaries increase with the level of seniority of staff, but there is no clear pattern for the variation in range between minimum and maximum salaries across seniority levels. For example, in Hungary the difference between minimum and maximum salaries is 46% at junior level, 55% at intermediate level and 41% at senior level. In France, both minimum and maximum salaries increase with seniority levels, but the range decreases with the level of seniority (from 132% at junior level, to 110% at intermediate level and 91% at the senior level) (Table D7.2).
The number of grades within a seniority level may affect the difference between the minimum and maximum statutory salaries at a given seniority level. For example, a country may consider both post-doctoral fellows and lecturers to be junior positions because they are both possible positions for those starting an academic career. Each of these grades may have a narrow salary range, but when considered together as junior staff, the span between the minimum and maximum salaries might be quite large. In contrast, a country that only has one grade in the junior category might have a much smaller range, even if salaries within that grade have a wider range than a country with several grades. Thus, the combination of the number of grades and the way these grades are mapped onto seniority levels may affect the salary range.
In Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland and the Slovak Republic, statutory minimum and maximum salaries apply to all tertiary staff on academic career tracks, whatever their seniority level. In Finland, the collective agreement on salaries does not recognise seniority levels, but the nature and responsibility of the work, the interaction skills, knowledge and skills required by the tasks is taken into account to define a person's salary category. Then a junior staff would not be placed into a salary category in the higher end, and similarly no senior staff would be placed into a salary category in the lower end. Among these five countries, the maximum salary exceeds the minimum by 93% in Iceland and by more than 240% in Finland (Figure D7.2). This does not mean that staff with different seniority levels will necessarily reach the same salaries. For example, in the Slovak Republic salary progression depends on qualifications, responsibilities and number of years in service, and the responsibilities associated with positions at junior, intermediate and senior levels may be associated with different ranges of salaries.
Among the seven countries with available data on salaries of staff on academic track in tertiary institutions providing short-cycle tertiary programmes, the differences between minimum and maximum salaries at the different levels of seniority are similar to those in tertiary institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes (Table D7.2).
Salaries of tertiary academic staff in bachelor's, master's and doctoral or equivalent programmes, in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for private consumption
1. Actual salaries of full-time equivalent staff.
2. Statutory salaries for all categories of academic staff on an academic career track combined.
For data, see Table D7.2 and Table D7.3. For a link to download the data, see Tables and Notes section.
Average actual salaries
In addition to statutory salaries, tertiary academic staff may also receive additional bonuses and allowances that are part of their salaries. Some of these allowances may be similar to those for teachers in primary and secondary education, such as annual bonuses, extra pay for holidays or sick-leave pay, but tertiary academic staff may also receive allowances that are specifically related to research activities. For example, academic staff in Colombia and Iceland can receive allowances for academic output such as journal articles, while those in Germany can receive payments for special performance in areas such as research, teaching or arts among others (for more information see Education at a Glance 2025 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes – (https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en).
Contribution to research through the publication of academic outputs can affect the compensation of tertiary academic staff in different ways. In Colombia, the publication of academic outputs is rewarded through increased salaries (depending on the number and type of publications up to an annual limit). In Finland, staff performance evaluations take a number of aspects into account, including research merit, pedagogical merit, and social and university community merit. These evaluations result in salary increases ranging from 6% to 50%, varying according to four different performance categories.
Additional allowances and bonuses can account for a substantial portion of annual salaries, which explains the difference between statutory and actual salaries within countries, and also part of the differences in actual salaries across countries (Figure D7.2 and Table D7.3). In Italy, additional payments are responsible for around 5% of the salaries paid while in France this share is around 17%. As only few countries have data available on the actual salaries of tertiary staff in institutions providing short-cycle programmes, the analysis here focuses on actual salaries in tertiary in educational institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes.
Actual salaries by categories of staff and seniority level
For tertiary educational institutions providing bachelor's, master’s and doctoral or equivalent programmes, information on the average actual salaries for all staff on academic career track, at all levels of seniority combined is available in 17 countries and economies. The average actual salary across these countries amounts to USD 77 321, ranging from USD 48 413 in the Slovak Republic to more than twice this amount in Austria (USD 112 432) (Table D7.3).
Actual salaries broken down by seniority are available in most of these countries and economies and a few additional ones, with 17 countries and economies having available data for some or all of the three seniority levels (junior, intermediate and senior). On average, actual salaries increase with seniority level, with junior staff earning USD 61 958, intermediate staff USD 73 682 and senior staff USD 108 255. This pattern is also true for all countries and economies with data on average actual salaries by seniority level, although the extent of the increase varies. Average actual salaries of senior staff are less than 40% higher than those for junior staff in Austria and France (countries which all also have smaller differences in statutory salaries across seniority levels), but are more than twice those of junior staff in England (United Kingdom), Estonia, Germany and Israel. In several of these countries, salaries are determined by tertiary institutions, which may lead to large differences between the salaries of tertiary academic staff (Figure D7.2 and Table D7.3).
Average actual salaries for other academic staff not on academic career tracks and for employed doctoral candidates are much lower than those for all academic staff on an academic career track combined. Among the ten countries with available data, average actual salaries of academic staff not on academic career tracks are also lower than those of junior staff on academic career tracks in six of them. They are at least 25% lower in Estonia, France, Iceland, and Norway. In contrast, they are at least 15% higher in Czechia, Israel and Türkiye. Employed doctoral candidates have the lowest actual salaries among all categories of staff considered, but the data are available in very few countries (Table D7.3).
Actual salaries by gender
Almost all countries with available data on average actual salaries for tertiary academic staff also have a breakdown of actual salaries by gender, except for Latvia and the Slovak Republic.
Average actual salaries are higher for men than for women in nearly all countries and for all seniority categories of tertiary academic staff. This is the case for academic staff on an academic career track and also academic staff not on academic career track and employed doctoral candidates, however only 10 countries have data by gender for staff both on and not on academic career track and 5 countries have data for employed doctoral candidates. The exceptions are Iceland, where average actual salaries of male junior staff on academic career tracks are 3% lower than their female peers, and Norway, where actual salaries of academic staff not on an academic career track are 10% lower for men than women. In all other countries, actual salaries are higher for men than women, but the difference is less than 10% for most categories of academic staff on academic career tracks (Table D7.3).
Gender differences widen when comparing the average actual salaries of men and women for all categories of tertiary academic staff on academic career track combined. Average actual salaries are at least 15% higher for men than women in Estonia, Finland, Israel and Slovenia, and the difference exceeds 25% in Hungary. This suggests that women are disproportionately employed in less senior roles (Table D7.3).
Actual salaries by age
Actual salaries tend to increase with age. This effect is unsurprisingly most pronounced for aggregated actual salaries that do not take seniority levels into account, since the seniority level of staff also tends to increase with age. Averaged across 15 countries with available data on actual salaries of all tertiary academic staff on academic career track, the actual salaries of 55-64 year-olds are 58% higher than the actual salaries of 25-34 year-olds. In all countries with available data, the difference is at least 20% between these two age groups, and exceeds 90% in Austria, France and Slovenia (Table D7.4, available on line).
Actual salaries for other academic staff not on career tracks also increase with age, but to a lesser extent. Among the few countries with available information, the largest gap between the average actual salaries of 55-64 year-olds and those of 25-34 year-olds is in Portugal, where it is 48% (Table D7.4, available on line).
Some of these differences result from the fact that more senior positions are associated with higher salaries, as noted above, meaning they partly reflect the differences in statutory salaries for different seniority levels. Moreover, the characteristics of salary progression, where salaries increase through promotion as opposed to length of employment, could also explain differences between countries. Furthermore, since allowances and additional payments are included in average actual salaries, older staff might be eligible for more allowances, pushing their actual salaries upwards.
Salaries of tertiary academic staff relative to tertiary-educated workers
Tertiary academic staff on academic career track have among the highest qualification levels in the population. Most of the staff in this group will have completed a doctorate in order to teach and research in public tertiary institutions. In contrast, on average across OECD countries, just 1% of 25-64 year-olds have a doctoral degree or equivalent (see Table A1.1).
As in other professions, salary levels may be important for attracting and retaining academic staff in public tertiary institutions. On average, earnings of tertiary academic staff are on a par with other tertiary-educated workers across countries with available data. Among the 15 countries and economies with available information on both the actual salaries of tertiary academic staff (all seniority levels combined) and the earnings of tertiary-educated workers, academic staff salaries range from 85% or less of the earnings of tertiary-educated workers in Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States to 196% in Portugal. However, in half of these countries, the difference is less than 5% (below the earnings of tertiary educated workers in Austria, France, Norway and the Slovak Republic, and above in Estonia and Germany) (Figure D7.3).
However, as this ratio covers all tertiary academic staff on academic career tracks, it may hide large differences due to seniority levels. In all countries and economies except for Israel, the actual salaries of junior academic staff are lower than the earnings of tertiary-educated workers, ranging from less than 70% of earnings of tertiary academic staff in Czechia and the Slovak Republic to 111% or more in Israel and Portugal. On average across countries with available data, junior staff earn 89% of comparably educated tertiary workers’ salaries (Figure D7.3).
Similarly, actual salaries of tertiary academic staff at intermediate level are also lower than those of tertiary-educated workers in all but five countries and economies: they are 13-14% higher in England (United Kingdom) and Estonia, 33% higher in Italy, 48% higher in Israel and 121% higher in Portugal. On average, intermediate staff earnings are on par with other tertiary educated workers across countries with available data (Figure D7.3).
At senior level, actual salaries of academic staff are higher than the earnings of tertiary-educated workers in all countries and economies, averaging 59% more overall. The difference ranges from 18% higher in Austria and the United States to 169% higher in Portugal. Note however that the data from Austria cover only a subset of institutions and might not be representative (Figure D7.3).
Average actual salaries of full-time academic staff in tertiary institutions providing bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes relative to the earnings of full-time, full-year workers with a bachelor's degree or higher qualification
1. Actual salaries of full-time equivalent staff.
For a link to download the data, see Tables and Notes section.
Academic staff are defined personnel in a tertiary educational institution whose primary or major functions involves the planning, organisation and conducting of group activities whereby students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes develop as stipulated by educational programmes. Academic staff with some teaching responsibilities include personnel employed at tertiary educational institutions whose primary assignment is instruction and/or research with some teaching responsibilities; personnel with some teaching responsibilities who hold an academic rank with such titles as professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, researcher or the equivalent of any of these academic ranks; and personnel with other leadership titles (e.g. dean, director, associate dean, assistant dean, chair or head of department), if they have some teaching responsibilities. Academic staff do not include staff such as teaching and research assistants with some teaching responsibilities, student teachers, student researchers, teachers’ aides and paraprofessionals. Nor do they include academic staff mainly devoted to research and employed by independent, organisationally separate, government research institutions in cases where the connection between tertiary educational institutions and research institutions is purely administrative.
Actual salaries refer to the annual average earnings received by full-time academic staff aged 25-64 before taxes. It is the gross salary from the employee’s point of view: it includes the part of social security contributions and pension-scheme contributions that are paid by the employees (even if deducted automatically from the employees’ gross salary by the employer). However, the employers’ premium for social security and pension is excluded. Actual salaries also include work-related payments, such as annual bonuses, results-related bonuses, extra pay for holidays and sick-leave pay. Income from other sources, such as government social transfers, investment income and any other income that is not directly related to their profession is not included.
Earnings for workers with tertiary education are average earnings for full-time, full-year workers aged 25-64 with an education at ISCED level 5, 6, 7 or 8.
Instructional personnel other than academic staff are personnel in tertiary educational institutions who are not academic staff but are employed on a full- or part-time basis for the primary purpose of assisting academic staff in classroom instruction, laboratory instruction or in the conduct of research and receiving payment (in cash or in kind) for their activity. They include employed doctoral candidates (doctoral candidates employed on a full- or part-time basis by their institution during their doctoral degree) and teaching and research assistants (personnel employed on a full- or part-time basis for the primary purpose of supporting academic staff in classroom instruction, laboratory instruction or in the conduct of research). Teaching and research assistants are graduate students (other than doctoral candidates) or other personnel who hold such titles as teaching assistant, teaching associate, teaching fellow, research assistant or equivalent personnel with other titles.
Maximum statutory salary refers to the maximum annual statutory salary for full-time tertiary staff in public tertiary educational institutions as indicated in official documents (e.g. national regulations, collective agreements).
Minimum statutory salary refers to the minimum annual statutory salary for full-time tertiary staff in public tertiary educational institutions as indicated in official documents (e.g. national regulations, collective agreements).
Statutory salaries refer to scheduled salaries according to official pay scales. The salaries reported are gross (total sum paid by the employer) less the employer’s contribution to social security and pension, according to existing salary scales. Salaries are “before tax” (i.e. before deductions for income tax). Statutory salaries also include additional payments that all academic staff receive and that constitutes a regular part of the annual salary, such as 13th month pay.
Tertiary staff refers to personnel in tertiary educational institutions whose primary assignment is instruction and/or research activities. The classification of tertiary staff is based on the primary or major functions performed by staff. It includes tertiary academic staff and other staff.
The reference period for staff salaries is the academic year 2022/23 (where the academic year begins on the second half of the calendar year 2022 and ends in the first half of the calendar year 2023), or the academic year 2023 where the school year starts in the first half of the calendar year 2023. For ease of reference in the publication, the reference year is given as 2023.
Salaries were converted into equivalent USD using purchasing power parities (PPPs) for private consumption from the OECD Data Explorer on national accounts. These PPPs refer to the calendar year and have been adjusted to refer to January 2023 for the conversion of salaries.
In Figure D7.3, the ratios of salaries of tertiary staff to earnings for similarly educated full-time, full-year workers aged 25-64 are calculated using a similar methodology to Chapter D3. The ratios have been calculated for countries for which these data are available. When data on earnings of workers referred to a different reference year than the 2023 reference year used for salaries of tertiary academic staff, a deflator has been used to adjust earnings data to 2023.
For more information, please see the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics (OECD, 2018[1]) and Education at a Glance 2025 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en)) for country-specific notes.
Data on salaries of tertiary academic staff are from the 2024 OECD-INES-NESLI data collection on Salaries of Tertiary Academic Staff and refer to the school year 2022/23 (or 2023).
Data on the earnings of workers are based on the regular data collection by the OECD Labour Market and Social Outcomes of Learning Network.
References
[1] OECD (2018), OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018: Concepts, Standards, Definitions and Classifications, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
To download the data for the figures and tables in this chapter, click StatLink above.
To access further data and/or other education indicators, please visit the OECD Data Explorer: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.
Data cut-off for the print publication 13 June 2025. Please note that the Data Explorer contains the most recent data.
Table D7.1. Use of national statutory salaries for academic staff, by tertiary education level (2023)
Who determines salaries
Central/State = Central/state government or top-level authorities
Prov/Reg = Provincial/regional authorities or sub-regional/inter-municipal authorities
Local = Local authorities
Institutions = tertiary institutions
More than one = More than one authority level
Collective = Collective agreement
Individual = Individual negotiation
1. The compensation system varies between different types of public tertiary institutions: in Czechia, between tertiary professional schools (ISCED 655, i.e. bachelor's level with a vocational orientation) and higher educational institutions (HEIs) and in the Netherlands, between universities of applied sciences (ISCED 5-8, including short-term tertiary education) and universities (ISCED 6-8). Rows for tertiary professional schools in Czechia and universities in the Netherlands are available on line.
2. Statutory salaries for all categories of academic staff on an academic career track combined in educational institutions for bachelor's, master's and doctoral or equivalent programmes (also covering short-cycle tertiary programmes in the Netherlands).
3. Junior academic staff includes employed doctoral candidates
4. Statutory salaries for all categories of academic staff on an academic career track combined in educational institutions for short-cycle tertiary programmes.
Table D7.2. Minimum and maximum statutory salaries for academic staff, by tertiary education level (2023)
1. Excludes public universities and universities of applied sciences.
2. The compensation system varies between different types of public tertiary institutions: in Czechia, between tertiary professional schools (ISCED 655, i.e. bachelor's level with a vocational orientation) and higher educational institutions (HEIs) and in the Netherlands, between universities of applied sciences (ISCED 5-8) and universities (ISCED 6-8). Rows for tertiary professional schools in Czechia and universities in the Netherlands are available on line.
3. Statutory salaries for all categories of academic staff on an academic career track combined in educational institutions for bachelor's, master's and doctoral or equivalent programmes (also covering short-cycle tertiary programmes in the Netherlands).
4. Junior academic staff includes employed doctoral candidates.
5. Year of reference: 2022.
6. The data necessary to present minimum and maximum statutory salaries that apply to a particular academic staff category is currently unavailable. The minimum and maximum salary amounts span the entire statutory salary range, irrespective of academic staff category.
7. Statutory salaries for all categories of academic staff on an academic career track combined in educational institutions for short-cycle tertiary programmes.
Table D7.3. Actual salaries of academic staff, by tertiary education level, category of staff and gender (2023)
Note: Columns showing the data for employed doctoral candidates and rows showing the data broken down by gender are available on line.
1. Actual salaries of full-time equivalent staff.
2. Excludes public universities and universities of applied sciences.
3. The compensation system varies between different types of public tertiary institutions: in Czechia, between tertiary professional schools (ISCED 655, i.e. bachelor's level with a vocational orientation) and higher educational institutions (HEIs) and in the Netherlands, between universities of applied sciences (ISCED 5-8) and universities (ISCED 6-8). Rows for tertiary professional schools in Czechia and universities in the Netherlands are available on line.
4. Junior academic staff includes employed doctoral candidates.
5. Year of reference: 2022.
6. Government dependent private institutions.
a – category not applicable; b – break in series; d – contains data from another column; m – missing data; x – contained in another column (indicated in brackets). For further control codes, see the Reader’s Guide.
For further methodological information, see Education at a Glance 2025: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en).
Public institutions
Note: For notes on this table and a link to download the data, see Tables and Notes section above.
By level of education in public institutions, in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for private compensation
Note: For notes on this table and a link to download the data, see Tables and Notes section above.
Annual average salaries of full-time 25-64 year-old staff with some teaching responsibilities at tertiary level, in equivalent USD converted using PPPs for private compensation
Note: For notes on this table and a link to download the data, see Tables and Notes section above.