UNESCO: World Needs 50m More Teachers by 2030

The world will need an additional 50 million teachers by 2030 to provide universal access to pre-primary, primary and secondary education, new UNESCO data has shown.

The figure includes 44 million teachers required for primary and secondary education and another six million for pre-primary education.

UNESCO released the figures on Monday to mark World Teachers’ Day, which this year also commemorated the 60th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.

The new data means the world needs one additional teacher for every two currently working. UNESCO said 58 per cent of the teachers required by 2030 will replace educators who leave the profession.

The shortage comes as countries struggle to keep enough qualified teachers in classrooms while school-age populations continue to grow.

Sub-Saharan Africa faces one of the biggest challenges. UNESCO estimates that the region alone will require about 15 million additional teachers by 2030 to meet universal education targets.

The global education agency said teacher shortages remain a concern across income levels. However, many teachers in poorer regions face heavier workloads, limited training opportunities and difficult working conditions.

It also raised concerns about the declining social and material value attached to the profession.

According to the new data, pre-primary and primary teachers earn slightly less than other professionals with similar qualifications in many countries.

The situation extends beyond pay. In 75 per cent of countries covered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Teaching and Learning International Survey 2024, fewer than 40 per cent of teachers felt that society valued their profession.

UNESCO and its partners said governments must therefore focus on recruitment, retention, training and better working conditions rather than simply increasing the number of teachers.

“Every learner deserves a teacher who is well prepared, well supported and empowered to thrive in the profession,” UNESCO, the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Education International said in their joint message.

The 1966 Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers established international standards on teachers’ rights and responsibilities.

It also addressed teacher preparation, continuing education, recruitment, employment and teaching conditions.

Six decades later, UNESCO said the profession faces new pressures from digital technologies, climate change, inclusion, migration and displacement.

The teacher shortage also comes against a worsening global access crisis.

UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report found that 273 million children and young people were out of school in 2024.

The figure has increased for seven consecutive years, driven by population growth, conflicts, crises and shrinking education budgets.

The report said one in six school-age children worldwide remained outside the education system, while only two out of every three students completed secondary school.

Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia account for about three-quarters of the world’s out-of-school children and young people, highlighting the regions facing some of the greatest pressure to expand education access.

UNESCO said meeting the teacher demand will require substantial investment. Its earlier global teacher report estimated that countries would need about $120bn annually to finance the additional teaching posts required for universal primary and secondary education.

The agency has consequently called for greater investment in teachers, arguing that expanding school access without enough qualified educators could undermine efforts to achieve quality education.

With less than five years remaining to the 2030 education target, UNESCO said strengthening the teaching profession must remain central to efforts to ensure that every child can access and complete quality education.