Sub-Saharan Africa needs over 15 million more primary and secondary school teachers by 2030 to address teacher shortages

Key takeaways:

  • Sub-Saharan Africa faces the most severe teacher shortage, needing over 15 million educators by 2030, more than any other region.
  • Southern Asia has the second-highest demand, requiring 7.78 million teachers, highlighting a major education gap in fast-growing economies.
  • Europe & Northern America also need 4.83 million teachers, proving that even developed regions struggle with teacher shortages.
  • South-Eastern Asia (4.54M), Northern Africa & Western Asia (4.26M), and Eastern Asia (3.28M) are all battling significant shortages, showing a global education crisis.
  • Even smaller regions like Oceania (0.28M) and Central Asia (0.75M) require thousands of teachers, emphasising that no region is immune to this issue.
  • If action isn’t taken now, millions of children will face overcrowded classrooms and lower educational quality, potentially stunting economic growth and workforce readiness for future generations.

The world is facing teacher shortage, and no region is feeling the impact more than Sub-Saharan Africa, where over 15 million additional teachers are needed by 2030. This is nearly double the demand in Southern Asia, which requires 7.78 million teachers. The scale of the challenge is staggering, with millions of students at risk of missing out on quality education due to a lack of teachers.

Across the globe, other regions also face significant shortages, with Europe & Northern America needing 4.83 million teachers, South-Eastern Asia requiring 4.54 million, and Latin America & the Caribbean short by 3.21 million teachers. Even Oceania, despite its smaller population, needs 280,000 teachers to meet demand. The issue is widespread, but the crisis is most severe in regions with rapidly growing youth populations.

Source:

UNESCO and Teacher Task Force

Period:

2030
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