UNESCO Warns of Urgent Teacher Shortage in Latin America

The shortage of teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean threatens the region’s ability to ensure quality education and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030, according to a new global report published by UNESCO.

Unveiled during the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development 2025, the Global Report on Teachers provides a data-driven overview of the global teaching profession and highlights critical gaps in recruitment, retention, and support.

Worldwide, an estimated 44 million teachers will be needed to meet universal education goals by 2030. Of those, 3.2 million are required in Latin America and the Caribbean alone — primarily to replace professionals leaving the field due to low pay, work overload, and lack of recognition.

“Without teachers, there is no quality education. Without education, there is no sustainable development,” says Esther Kuisch, Director of Regional Office in Santiago, UNESCO. She called on governments to prioritize the teaching profession through targeted policies that address working conditions, training, and professional status.

UNESCO also launched the Regional Teacher Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean 2025-2030. The strategy outlines measures to strengthen teacher training, improve working conditions, promote leadership within schools, and ensure teachers participate in education policy development.

The strategy will guide preparations for a high-level global event on the teaching profession, to be held in Santiago later this year. Convened by Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO, the event aims to bring together governments, teacher unions, educators, and civil society to develop coordinated responses to teacher shortages worldwide.

The findings and proposals come at a pivotal time, as countries across the region struggle to retain educators in classrooms, undermining progress toward SDG 4, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education.

“We urgently need to redouble our efforts to advance in the realization of the commitments acquired, and in our case, specifically those expressed in SDG 4. Concrete actions and strategies, with territorial relevance and a future perspective, are where we must go,” says Nicolás Cataldo, Chile’s Minister of Education.