Only 1 In 5 Teachers In Malta Are Aged 50 Or Over

Malta has one of the youngest teaching workforces in the European Union, according to new Eurostat figures.

In 2024, just 20.9% of teachers working in Malta’s primary and secondary schools were aged 50 or over, the second-lowest share across the entire EU. Only Ireland recorded a slightly lower figure at 20.8%, while Luxembourg followed Malta at 22%.

The figures stand out even more when compared with the EU average, where 40.4% of teachers were aged 50 or older.

This means Malta’s schools have a considerably younger teaching workforce than many other European countries, potentially putting the country in a stronger position when it comes to long-term workforce continuity and avoiding some of the retirement pressures being faced elsewhere in Europe.

At the other end of the scale, more than half of teachers were aged 50 or over in Lithuania, Portugal, Italy, Latvia and Estonia. Lithuania registered the highest figure at 58.4%, followed by Portugal at 55.6% and Italy at 54.3%.

Across the EU as a whole, around 5.30 million teachers worked in primary and secondary education in 2024, an increase of roughly 36,500 compared with the previous year.

Women continue to make up the clear majority of the profession, accounting for 72.9% of teachers across the bloc, compared with 27.1% who were men.

Despite Malta’s comparatively young workforce, Europe as a whole continues to face an ageing-teacher challenge. Just 8% of EU teachers were under the age of 30 in 2024.

The highest proportions of teachers under 30 were recorded in Luxembourg, Denmark, Belgium and Austria, while Cyprus had the lowest share at just 3.1%.

The data was published by Eurostat to mark World Teachers’ Day, which is celebrated every year on 5th October.

#MaltaDaily