Which Country Are Teachers Highest Paid?

Overview

Generally speaking, the highest paid region of the world is The Middle East. In the main Gulf nations – The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, the amount of English spoken is high, even though Arabic is the official language. People come from other countries such as The Philippines to work in the service industry, and the common language is English, in addition to the thousands of expats in the region. So English is in demand. The Gulf countries are rich due to naturally occuring oil and gas and they want to compete on the world stage so they value English. They have the money to pay expats high salaries and English native speakers are respected. It has to be said, in my experience, you work hard for your dollar, but the dollar is good!! Dubai is a highly sought after place and is easy to live in, so it’s not as well paid these days. Try Qatar – it’s improved so much due to the investment in infrastructure leading up to hosting the Fifa World Cup, it’s now a top destination! There are also great international schools such as Doha College and Doha English Speaking School. Oman and Bahrain are also good options. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are stricter and ‘dry’ (no alcohol) so be aware of this before applying. Schools throughout the region can pay £2500 +++ per month plus the expat package so you can save.

Which country are teachers highest paid? 

There’s a complicated answer to this question. It’s impossible to say which school or country is the best paying in the world. This is because of the varying standards of living around the globe. For example, living on a shoestring budget in Thailand, spending your free time on the beach, can’t be compared with skiing in an expensive country such as Switzerland. You might be earning big bucks but you’ll be spending it as well. It’s true that anywhere, you can choose how expensive your lifestyle is, but in some places, just the basics are crazy expensive. Take into consideration your expatriate package – is housing paid for, or are you getting an allowance you’re topping up? This may eat into your salary.

Housing

On the subject of housing, countries which are developed but are overpopulated tiny islands such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, housing costs are extremely high, due to lack of space. You may find your housing allowance covers part of your costs, but not enough! Or you can’t afford the kind of place you’d prefer to live in. Having said that, Hong Kong has some excellently paid jobs, up to £600 per month!

Job hunting

When you’re job hunting, look at the standard of living in the country you’re considering and how much it will cost for the lifestyle you’ll be living there. Not all jobs are well-paid. You may find yourself in a school where the salary barely covers the basics, let alone the opportunity to save.

Some anomalies

There are a few strange anomalies. One is Angola, specifically the Luanda International School. The salaries are extremely high, but so is the cost of living!! It’s possibly the most expensive city in the world which you might not expect for Africa. So don’t get blindsided by the salary – look at the standard of living.

Final thoughts

So I would recommend the Gulf countries I’ve already mentioned, due to the good salaries which are pretty much everywhere in the region. It’s common for housing to be provided rather than allowances (although allowances are offered). This makes saving a good proportion of your salary quite possible.

Good salaries also exist in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America, check out a few schools, particularly British, American and Australian schools in those areas.