List of the best countries for making money teaching English abroad
This page shows you an unbiased list of the best countries for making money teaching English abroad. All the amounts are shown in US Dollars.
The information on this page is a combination of data taken from:
- OECD data for teachers’ earnings
- Economic data published by Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS)
- Various internet job portals with advertised salaries in different countries
- Expatistan, a site that provides an impartial cost of living comparison between two chosen cities
There are many countries that do not send figures to the OECD and were not investigated by UBS, so if you cannot find a country on the list, this is the reason why.
Top 10 best countries for making money teaching English abroad graphics
These graphs show the top 10 best countries for making money teaching English abroad from the list shown below. All the amounts are adjusted to show their respective buying power against a benchmark city – New York City in the USA. In addition, they are all calculated assuming a standard 30 hour week.
For example: what you get paid in Tokyo for working 30 hours a week has more buying power than what you would earn in Milan also working 30 hours a week,.
Top 10 best countries for making money teaching English abroad by monthly earning power adjusted
Top 10 best countries for making money teaching English abroad by hourly earning power adjusted
Explanation of the list of the best countries for making money teaching English abroad
All money fields are in US Dollars. All money figures shown are take-home amounts.The table is split into seven columns,
- City and country
- Average expected weekly teaching hours
- Average monthly earnings
- Average real earnings per hour
- A Cost Of Living (COL) equaliser percentage rate so that all financial figures can be compared as equals
- Adjusted earnings per hour so we can compare apples with apples
- The NYC equivalent monthly buying power of each city’s earnings for a teacher who works 30 hours a week
The equaliser percentage rate is taken from Expatistan by comparing the cost of living in each city to New York City.
By doing this, the figures in the far right column shows the buying power of all earnings as equals.
Explanation of the calculations of the best countries for making money teaching English abroad
The first line explained. In Luxembourg, on average a teacher works 26 hours and earns 4,529.20 USD a month. 4,529.20 / 26 / 4 weeks = 43.55 an hour, Expatistan shows that the cost of living in Luxembourg is 16% lower than in NYC so the equaliser percentage is 116% so we calculate 43.55 * 116% = 50.52 USD per hour giving 50.52 * 30 hours a week * 4 weeks = 6,016.16 USD.
This means that your monthly earnings working 30 hours a week in Luxembourg would buy the equivalent of 6,062.16 USD in NYC.
This may appear a little complicated but it is the only way to compare apples with apples.
Table of the best countries for making money teaching English abroad
From highest paid to lowest paid. The “Hourly” column shows what you will actually earn and the last column on the right shows you its monthly buying power in NYC.
| City | Hours | Monthly | Hourly | COL equaliser | Adjusted | NYC buying power |
| Luxembourg (Luxembourg) | 26 | 4,529.20 | 43.55 | 116% | 50.52 | 6,062.16 |
| Nicosia (Cyprus) | 33 | 3,400.00 | 25.76 | 142% | 36.58 | 4,389.09 |
| Tokyo (Japan) | 44 | 4,983.33 | 28.31 | 114% | 32.28 | 3,873.41 |
| Copenhagen (Denmark) | 38 | 4,350.00 | 28.62 | 108% | 30.91 | 3,708.95 |
| Frankfurt (Germany) | 39 | 3,841.67 | 24.63 | 125% | 30.78 | 3,693.91 |
| Madrid (Spain) | 28 | 2,470.00 | 22.05 | 135% | 29.77 | 3,572.68 |
| Seoul (South Korea) | 43 | 3,691.67 | 21.46 | 131% | 28.12 | 3,374.01 |
| Berlin (Germany) | 40 | 3,316.67 | 20.73 | 135% | 27.98 | 3,358.13 |
| Dubai (United Arab Emirates) | 37 | 2,991.67 | 20.21 | 131% | 26.48 | 3,177.64 |
| Milan (Italy) | 23 | 1,816.67 | 19.75 | 128% | 25.28 | 3,033.04 |
| Munich (Germany) | 40 | 3,208.33 | 20.05 | 123% | 24.66 | 2,959.69 |
| Hong Kong (China) | 44 | 3,983.33 | 22.63 | 106% | 23.99 | 2,878.86 |
| Rome (Italy) | 25 | 1,841.67 | 18.42 | 129% | 23.76 | 2,850.90 |
| Barcelona (Spain) | 38 | 2,608.33 | 17.16 | 135% | 23.17 | 2,779.93 |
| Lisbon (Portugal) | 31 | 1,925.00 | 15.52 | 145% | 22.51 | 2,701.21 |
| Vienna (Austria) | 39 | 2,658.33 | 17.04 | 131% | 22.32 | 2,678.78 |
| Helsinki (Finland) | 37 | 2,816.67 | 19.03 | 114% | 21.70 | 2,603.51 |
| Paris (France) | 31 | 2,458.33 | 19.83 | 107% | 21.21 | 2,545.56 |
| Lyon (France) | 35 | 2,225.00 | 15.89 | 131% | 20.82 | 2,498.36 |
| Geneva (Switzerland) | 36 | 3,382.63 | 23.49 | 86% | 20.20 | 2,424.21 |
| Stockholm (Sweden) | 40 | 2,900.00 | 18.13 | 109% | 19.76 | 2,370.75 |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 39 | 2,716.67 | 17.41 | 113% | 19.68 | 2,361.41 |
| Oslo (Norway) | 36 | 3,291.67 | 22.86 | 84% | 19.20 | 2,304.17 |
| Athens (Greece) | 30 | 1,616.67 | 13.47 | 142% | 19.13 | 2,295.67 |
| Brussels (Belgium) | 38 | 2,225.00 | 14.64 | 128% | 18.74 | 2,248.42 |
| Taipei (Taiwan) | 42 | 1,925.00 | 11.46 | 151% | 17.30 | 2,076.25 |
| Zurich (Switzerland) | 42 | 3,382.63 | 20.13 | 83% | 16.71 | 2,005.41 |
| Ljubljana (Slovenia) | 40 | 1,708.33 | 10.68 | 144% | 15.38 | 1,845.00 |
| Manama (Bahrain) | 40 | 1,633.33 | 10.21 | 146% | 14.90 | 1,788.50 |
| Doha (Qatar) | 47 | 1,858.33 | 9.88 | 131% | 12.95 | 1,553.88 |
| Cairo (Egypt) | 36 | 1,083.33 | 7.52 | 167% | 12.56 | 1,507.64 |
| Kiev (Ukraine) | 32 | 916.67 | 7.16 | 171% | 12.25 | 1,469.53 |
| Chania (Greece) | 30 | 1,000.00 | 8.33 | 145% | 12.08 | 1,450.00 |
| Johannesburg (South Africa) | 40 | 1,200.00 | 7.50 | 154% | 11.55 | 1,386.00 |
| Tel Aviv (Israel) | 40 | 1,475.00 | 9.22 | 124% | 11.43 | 1,371.75 |
| Jakarta (Indonesia) | 43 | 1,250.00 | 7.27 | 155% | 11.26 | 1,351.74 |
| Warsaw (Poland) | 25 | 708.33 | 7.08 | 151% | 10.70 | 1,283.50 |
| Santiago de Chile (Chile) | 38 | 1,025.00 | 6.74 | 151% | 10.18 | 1,221.91 |
| Buenos Aires (Argentina) | 40 | 12,000 | 6.25 | 161% | 10.06 | 1,207.50 |
| Nairobi (Kenya) | 45 | 1,166.67 | 6.48 | 155% | 10.05 | 1,205.56 |
| Bucharest (Romania) | 40 | 1,000.00 | 6.25 | 160% | 10.00 | 1,200.00 |
| Budapest (Hungary) | 40 | 1,000.00 | 6.25 | 158% | 9.88 | 1,185.00 |
| Sofia (Bulgaria) | 34 | 750.00 | 5.51 | 163% | 8.99 | 1,078.68 |
| Manila (Philippines) | 40 | 916.67 | 5.73 | 155% | 8.88 | 1,065.63 |
| Prague (Czech Republic) | 40 | 891.67 | 5.57 | 159% | 8.86 | 1,063.31 |
| Istanbul (Turkey) | 40 | 916.67 | 5.73 | 147% | 8.42 | 1,010.63 |
| Tallinn (Estonia) | 35 | 766.67 | 5.48 | 151% | 8.27 | 992.29 |
| Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | 40 | 1,016.67 | 6.35 | 130% | 8.26 | 991.25 |
| São Paulo (Brazil) | 33 | 791.67 | 6.00 | 133% | 7.98 | 957.20 |
| Mumbai (India) | 36 | 666.67 | 4.63 | 171% | 7.92 | 950.00 |
| Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | 35 | 725.00 | 5.18 | 151% | 7.82 | 938.36 |
| Shanghai (China) | 40 | 841.67 | 5.26 | 139% | 7.31 | 877.44 |
| Moscow (Russia) | 40 | 875.00 | 5.47 | 132% | 7.22 | 866.25 |
| Bogota (Colombia) | 43 | 850.00 | 4.94 | 146% | 7.22 | 865.81 |
| Bratislava (Slovakia) | 41 | 741.67 | 4.52 | 155% | 7.01 | 841.16 |
| Delhi (India) | 41 | 666.67 | 4.07 | 173% | 7.03 | 843.90 |
| Beijing (China) | 40 | 758.33 | 4.74 | 147% | 6.97 | 836.06 |
| Vilnius (Lithuania) | 38 | 666.67 | 4.39 | 155% | 6.80 | 815.79 |
| Mexico City (Mexico) | 40 | 616.67 | 3.85 | 154% | 5.94 | 712.25 |
| Riga (Latvia) | 40 | 500.00 | 3.13 | 153% | 4.78 | 573.75 |
| Lima (Peru) | 44 | 441.67 | 2.51 | 156% | 3.91 | 469.77 |
| Caracas (Venezuela) | 36 | 816.67 | 5.67 | 69% | 3.91 | 469.58 |
Cities like Oslo or Caracas are more expensive to live in than NYC so their COL equaliser is less than 100%.
For common sense reasons, we have not included English speaking countries on the list of the best countries for making money teaching English abroad, If you are going to teach English abroad, it will not be in an English speaking country.
We have to say that we were surprised at what we found when we researched the best countries for making money teaching English abroad. The results are quite unexpected.
Disclaimer: EBC tries to keep the information contained on our best countries for making money teaching English abroad page is as up-to-date and accurate as possible. EBC assumes no responsibility for the accuracy the information as it changes daily around the world. The information is provided as a guide. This information is not a guarantee of earnings, it is a way of comparing earning power by country. EBC accepts no liability for any actions taken based on the information on this page.
Extra advice for choosing the best countries to teach English abroad
- What to bring when you teach English abroad.
- How to make accommodation arrangements without getting swindled.
- The best ways to arrange health and travel insurance when you teach English abroad.
- Protect your job! Read “10 great ways to lose your English teaching job” to make sure that you don’t.
- Best countries to teach English in Europe
- Best countries for making money teaching English abroad