Bulgaria is among the lowest in Europe for average gross annual teacher pay in 2026, and Denmark is first, according to the analysis "Teachers in Europe and in Bulgaria" by the Education union at Podkrepa, led by Dr Yuliyan Petrov. The union will start checking its readiness for strikes and protests if pay and education funding are not raised. The 2027 budget is still unclear.
Average teacher pay is highest in Denmark (€74,086 a year), Iceland (€73,752) and Ireland (€69,747). Teachers earn least in Turkey (€18,669), Greece (€18,746), Latvia (€20,516), Romania (€20,805) and Slovakia (€22,936). Bulgaria is also at the bottom.
The union says comparing Bulgaria with the richest countries is not sensible, but it is useful to know where Bulgaria stands. It is at the bottom again.
From 1 January 2026, teachers get at least €1,144.05 gross a month, senior teachers €1,180.01 and head teachers €1,225.64. That comes to €13,728.60 a year for a starting teacher. These sums leave out extra pay for length of service, class teacher duties, qualification grade, mentoring and other items.
According to education ministry data, teachers earn about €1,565 gross a month on average, or €18,786 a year. The National Statistical Institute reports average gross annual pay of €15,972.25 for 2025, or €1,331.02 a month. Teaching staff earn about 110.2% of that, and in schools about 112.0%. For 2026, comparable data from the institute and the ministry show teacher pay below 108.0% of the average.
The union says this is far below the target of 125% of the average gross wage, which is written into the collective labour agreement and was promised by the ruling Progressive Bulgaria. Union members believe that in Bulgaria the value education adds is counted as a free social service, not through the quality and results of pupils.
In many European countries, pay does not match teachers' qualifications, the union says. According to some European organisations, starting teacher pay is about 40% below that of other university graduates.
According to Eurydice, in the 2024/2025 school year Luxembourg paid the most at most levels, followed by the Netherlands and Germany. Starting pay there is between €55,000 and €62,000 a year, and top pay between €97,000 and €109,000.
Top pay is lowest in Slovakia (between €18,000 and €22,000 a year), Hungary and Czechia (up to €27,000). Starting pay in Greece and Slovakia is up to €17,000. In 11 EU countries it takes 31 to 40 years to reach the top of the career, depending on the level, and in Denmark and Finland up to ten.
In France, average net pay for 2024 is €3,090 a month, according to the French education ministry. This leaves out staff on contracts, who are about 8% of the workforce and earn the least. Real pay for French teachers fell by 0.61% between the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 school years. France is one of five EU countries where pay is falling behind the rising cost of living. The others are Romania, Slovakia, Italy and French-speaking Belgium.
A 2025 study by the OECD shows that higher teacher pay can also lead to better learning results.
The day after an election is once again a non-teaching day on which staff must still come in. Classrooms are closed because of the vote, so head teachers and teachers will have to act as guides, entertainers and security guards, the union members say. They say schools perhaps should stop being used for elections, because they are places for teaching and education. The union proposes to the education ministry that 26 October be a non-teaching day with no attendance for pupils.