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| 7 May 2025 | |
| Spain | |
| Community News |
Europe and North America are facing an escalating teacher shortage crisis, largely driven by high attrition rates, poor working conditions, and lack of career stability. These are the key findings of the Spanish edition of UNESCO’s Global Report on Teachers, launched in collaboration with the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 and Fundación SM at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
The report reveals that over 90% of the region’s estimated shortfall of 4.8 million teachers stems from professionals leaving the field—an alarming trend that is expected to worsen. In secondary education alone, Europe could see a deficit of up to 3.1 million teachers by 2030. With a rapidly aging workforce, retirement is cited as a major contributor to the shortage across the continent.
In Spain, the problem is compounded by job instability and subject-specific shortages. More than 20% of Spanish teachers are employed on temporary contracts, a figure echoed in countries like Austria, Italy, and Romania. Critical gaps persist in fields such as mathematics, languages, vocational training, and philosophy. According to the EU’s Education and Training Monitor, over 720 math teaching positions went unfilled in Spain in 2023 alone, reports UNESCO.
Download the Spanish edition of UNESCO's Global Report on Teachers here
