Israel Leads OECD in Classroom Size, Teachers Work More Hours

A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reveals that Israel has the largest class sizes among member nations, with an average of 27.2 students in elementary schools and 30 in middle schools, significantly higher than the OECD averages. This overcrowding is partly attributed to Israel's growing child population, unlike many other member countries.

The "Education at a Glance" report, primarily using 2024 and 2025 data, also highlights that Israeli elementary school teachers teach more hours annually (844) compared to the OECD average (770). However, this trend reverses in high schools, where Israeli teachers instruct fewer hours (595) than the OECD average (678). Middle school hours are comparable.

Despite longer teaching hours in elementary schools, Israel has fewer school days per year than the OECD average across all levels, with the largest deficit in pre-primary education. The report also noted that while 77% of teachers who left the profession in Israel had less than five years of experience, a relatively high figure compared to countries like Australia, the overall teacher attrition rate in Israel stands at 2.5%, considerably lower than the OECD average of 6.4%. The majority of departing teachers, around 67%, retired.