U.S. teachers work more hours per year than teachers in other OECD countries: Annual hours worked by primary school teachers, by country, 2018

Country Primary school teachers
United States 2,016
Chile 1,962
Switzerland 1,930
Japan 1,891
Colombia 1,800
Iceland 1,800
Austria 1,776
Germany 1,769
Sweden  1,767
Latvia 1,760
Norway 1,688
Denmark 1,680
Netherlands 1,659
Hungary 1,632
New Zealand 1,616
France 1,607
Turkey 1,592
Lithuania 1,584
Czech Republic 1,560
Slovak Republic 1,560
Estonia 1,540
Korea, Republic of 1,520
Poland 1,488
Spain 1,425
Scotland 1,365
Portugal 1,308
England  1,265
Israel 1,235
Belgium (French) 962

Notes: Data from multiple sources—including international comparisons—suggest that teachers in the United States are paid less than their college-educated counterparts. These differences persist even after factoring in nonwage benefits and controlling for differences in the length of the work year. Most importantly, the U.S. data show that the earnings of teachers relative to other professions have been in steep and steady decline for at least three decades. 

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Teachers’ Statutory Teaching and Total Working Time and Average Class Size in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by Level of Education and Country: 2017 and 2018,Education at a Glance, 2019. 

View the underlying data on epi.org.