Education at a Glance 2026: Greece
Table of contents
This country note for Education at a Glance 2026 provides an overview of the key characteristics of the education system in Greece. In line with this year’s thematic focus, it emphasises teacher shortages while also covering other parts of the education system. The data in this note are provided for the latest available year. Readers are referred to the corresponding tables in Education at a Glance 2026 for notes and reference years.
Teachers tend to be older than other workers. On average across countries with available data, 25% of secondary teachers are aged 55 and over, compared to 19% of employed individuals holding at least a master’s degree and 21% of the overall employed population. Greece follows a similar pattern: 40% of secondary teachers are aged 55 and over, compared to 14% of employed individuals holding at least a master’s degree and 22% of the overall employed population (Figure 10).
The number of teachers a system needs is not determined by student numbers alone. On average across the OECD, measured in full-time equivalents, the number of teachers in public and private primary schools rose by 13% between 2015 and 2024, even though the number of primary students rose by only 2% over the same period, a divergence driven by policy choices around class sizes, teachers’ working hours and instruction time. In Greece, the number of primary teachers increased by 16% over this period, while the number of students decreased by 12% (Table 7).
Looking ahead, the number of children aged 5-14 in Greece is projected to decrease by 13% between 2024 and 2033, pointing to lower demand for teachers if other policies remain unchanged (Table 7). However, as argued above, demographic trends are only one factor shaping teacher workforce needs, and their effects can vary depending on how population change is distributed across regions. Teacher workforce needs also depend on policy decisions related to class sizes, teacher attrition and funding.
Educational attainment remains at an all-time high in 2025 as more people obtain advanced qualifications. Across the OECD, 43% of working-age adults (25-64 year-olds) have a tertiary qualification, while the share of adults with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment is slightly lower at 39%. In Greece, the share of adults with tertiary attainment is below the OECD average at 35%, while the share of adults with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment is above the OECD average at 47% (Table A1.1).
The share of young adults without upper secondary attainment continues to decline across the OECD, standing at 12% in 2025. This trend is also apparent in Greece, where the share of 25-34 year-olds without upper secondary attainment decreased from 16% to 8% between 2015 and 2025 (Table A1.2).
While more young adults obtain a tertiary qualification, the share of individuals whose highest qualification is upper secondary with a vocational orientation is decreasing in almost all OECD countries. In contrast, the share is increasing in Greece, where 6% of all 55-64 year-olds have upper secondary vocational attainment in 2025, compared to 8% of all 25-34 year-olds (Table A1.3).
Youth and young adults who are neither employed nor in education or training (NEET) are a key policy concern, as prolonged periods of inactivity at a young age can have lasting negative effects on socio-economic outcomes later in life. In Greece, 19% of all 18-24 year-olds were NEET in 2025, down from 24% in 2015. For comparison, the average share of NEETs across OECD countries with available data for both years was 13% in 2025 and 16% in 2015 (Table A2.2).
Employment outcomes for recent tertiary graduates vary across countries and are shaped by economic conditions, labour demand, and public policy. In Greece, the unemployment rate among tertiary-educated young adults decreased from 30% in 2015 to 11% in 2025. The corresponding rates across OECD countries with available data for both years were 7% on average in 2015 and 5% in 2025 (Table A3.3. and Figure 1).
In per cent of 25-34 year-olds in the labour force
Note: The OECD average on the right is based on a fixed sample of 34 countries.
For data, see OECD (2026) Education at a Glance 2026: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-en, Figure A3.1 and Unemployment rates of adults, by educational attainment, age group and gender (indicator), https://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/570 (accessed on 27 August 2026).
Workers with higher educational attainment are much more likely to be in jobs where they can work from home in most countries. In Greece, 14% of tertiary-educated workers sometimes or usually work from home compared to 3% of workers with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment (Figure A6.3).
Participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is common among children from the age of 3 in all OECD countries. In Greece, 66% of children between the age of 3 and the starting age of primary education (age 6 in Greece) were enrolled in ECEC in 2024, lower than the OECD average of 90% (Figure B1.1).
The number of primary and secondary schools – and thus their geographical proximity to students – varies across countries. Many countries have more primary than lower secondary schools, reflecting the desire to provide education close to primary students’ homes while offering secondary students the greater choice of specialist subjects that can only be provided by larger schools. In Greece, there are 2.12 primary schools for each lower secondary school, similar to the OECD average of 1.97 (Figure B2.4).
In most countries, there is no strong alignment between trends in the number of students and trends in the number of schools at lower secondary level. In Greece, the number of lower secondary students increased by 0.26% annually between 2015 and 2024, while the number of lower secondary schools increased by 1.12% annually over the same period. On average across the OECD, the number of students increased by 0.96%, while the number of schools decreased by 0.10% (Figure B2.1).
At tertiary level (ISCED 5-8), most OECD countries host a larger number of international students than they send abroad. On average across the OECD, outbound internationally mobile students account for 6% of all national students (whether enrolled domestically or abroad), while inbound students account for 12% of all students enrolled domestically in 2024. In Greece the share of outbound international students is 4%, while inbound international students average 3%. The top three destination countries for outbound students in Greece are the Netherlands (11%), Cyprus (11%) and Germany (11%), while the top three origin countries of inbound students are Cyprus (68%), Albania (6%) and Germany (5%) (Table B4.3. and Table B4.4).
In many countries, inbound mobility has increased faster than outbound mobility among tertiary students. On average across the OECD, the share of inbound mobile students increased by 4 percentage points between 2015 and 2024, and the share of outbound mobile students increased by 1 percentage point. In Greece, the share of inbound students remained the same, while the share of outbound students decreased by 1 percentage point (Table B4.3).
Most investment in education comes from public sources. On average across the OECD, government expenditure on primary to tertiary education (based on initial funds, on educational institutions) corresponded to 4% of GDP in 2023, while private expenditure corresponded to 0.6%. In Greece, government expenditure equalled 2.9% of GDP in 2023, while private expenditure equalled 0.5% (Table C1.8).
In OECD countries with available data for both years, average government expenditure on primary to tertiary education (based on final funds, inside and outside educational institutions) has decreased slightly from 4.4% of GDP in 2015 to 4.2% in 2023. Over the same period, it decreased from 3.4% to 3.0% in Greece, thus mirroring the trend of declining government expenditure on education as a share of GDP (Figure 2).
Total government expenditure on education (inside and outside of educational institutions); primary to tertiary education
1. Data include or exclude some categories, please refer to the source table for more information.
For data, see OECD (2026) Education at a Glance 2026: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-en, Figure C1.2 and Table C1.7.
Government expenditure on primary to tertiary education as share of GDP (based on final funds, on educational institutions, including R&D) varies by a factor of approximately two across OECD countries (ranging from 2.4% to 5.2%), while government expenditure per student varies by a factor of ten (from USD 3 398 to USD 32 832 adjusted for purchasing power parity) as differences in income levels mean nominal expenditure tends to vary more than relative expenditure. On average across the OECD, expenditure per student from primary to tertiary education was USD 13 601 in 2023, while in Greece it was USD 6 000 (Table C1.4. and Table C1.1).
Government expenditure on education tends to rise with the level of education. In primary education, expenditure per student was USD 7 647 in 2023 in Greece and USD 12 893 on average across the OECD. In lower secondary education, it was USD 6 924 in Greece and USD 14 291 on average across the OECD. Thus, Greece is among the few OECD countries where expenditure is lower at lower secondary level than at primary level (Table C3.1).
Expenditure can be divided into capital and current expenditure: the former finances investment in assets such as infrastructure, while the latter covers regular operating costs. Current expenditure can be further broken down into staff compensation and other current expenditure, such as purchases of goods and services and routine maintenance. In Greece, 93% of current expenditure in primary educational institutions is dedicated to staff compensation compared to 79% on average across the OECD, while the remainder is dedicated to other current expenditure (Figure C3.3).
At upper secondary level, government expenditure per student can differ substantially between general and vocational programmes. Vocational programmes are often more expensive than general programmes due to the need for specialised technical equipment, while at the same time, private contributions, for example from firms, cover a larger share of overall costs in some countries. In Greece, expenditure per student is USD 5 686 in general upper secondary programmes and USD 8 286 in vocational upper secondary programmes, compared to the OECD average of USD 12 421 in general programmes and USD 13 901 in vocational ones (Table C4.1).
On average across the OECD, government expenditure per student is the highest at bachelor’s and above levels despite being the levels where government expenditure accounts for the smallest share of total expenditure. Greece is among the countries where government expenditure constitutes a larger share of total expenditure compared to the OECD average. Government expenditure per student was USD 4 499 in 2023, corresponding to 76% of total expenditure at bachelor’s and above levels. In comparison, average government expenditure per student across the OECD was USD 16 405, amounting to 68% of total expenditure (Table C5.1).
Most countries have increased their investment in pre-primary education in recent years. This is also reflected in the ratio of children to teachers. Across the OECD, the number of children enrolled at this level decreased slightly by 2% between 2015 and 2024 while the number of teachers increased by 14%, resulting in a 14% reduction in the child-to-teacher ratio. In Greece, the number of children enrolled in pre-primary education increased by 9%, while the number of pre-primary teachers also increased by 52%, resulting in a 29% decrease of the child-to-teacher ratio (Data for chart D2.1).
In most countries, salaries of teachers in public institutions are lower than the salaries of other tertiary-educated workers, especially for teachers at lower levels of education. This is also the case in Greece, where pre-primary teachers earned on average 30% less than other tertiary-educated workers, while lower secondary teachers earned on average 24% less than other tertiary-educated workers (Table D3.2).
Teachers spend only a fraction of their working time teaching; the remainder is devoted to other tasks, including lesson preparation and marking. On average across the OECD, primary teachers taught 770 hours per year compared to 710 hours per year in lower secondary education. In Greece, annual maximum teaching hours were 645 in primary education and 600 in lower secondary education. Thus, Greece was among the large majority of countries where teachers in lower secondary education had to teach fewer hours than those in primary education (Figure 3).
Net statutory teaching time in hours per year, in public institutions
Note: Please refer to the source table for information on whether the data refer to typical, minimum or maximum hours.
1. Actual teaching time (in Latvia except for pre-primary level).
2. Reference year differs from 2023. Refer to the source table for details.
3. Average planned teaching time in each school at the beginning of the school year.
For data, see OECD (2026) Education at a Glance 2026: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-en, Figure D4.1 and Table D4.1.
Women form the majority of teachers at all levels of education except tertiary. Teachers in pre-primary education are almost entirely women with 96% of teachers being female on average across the OECD. The share of women among pre-primary teachers in Greece is even higher at 98%. At 70%, the share of female teachers in lower secondary education is lower, although it is still above the OECD average of 68% (Table D5.1).
Across the OECD, women are more strongly represented among teachers than among school management staff. In primary education, women in Greece accounted for 77% of teachers and 55% of school management staff in 2024, a gap of 22 percentage points. This gap was larger than the OECD average of 15 percentage points (Figure D5.3).
Contact
For more information on Education at a Glance 2026 and to access the full set of indicators, see: https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-en.
For more information on the methodology used during the data collection for each indicator, the references to the sources and the specific notes for each country, see Education at a Glance 2026: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, https://doi.org/10.1787/dcf64a14-en.
For general information on the methodology, please refer to the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
Updated data can be found online at http://data-explorer.oecd.org/ and by following the StatLinks in the publication.
Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using the Education GPS: https://gpseducation.oecd.org/.
Questions can be directed to the Education at a Glance team at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: EDU.EAG@oecd.org.
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The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), Education at a Glance 2026: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b4968bbc-en.
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