Can We Say We Value Teachers… While Paying Them 50% of GDP Per Capita?
Teacher salaries tell the truth about national priorities. See why Indonesia, a G20 economy, undervalues its educators while lower‑income nations pay theirs far more.
Let’s begin with a thought experiment.
Imagine someone says:
“I really, really care about my health.”
And then lights a cigarette with the receipt from their latest fried chicken combo meal, before complaining about the cost of gym memberships.
This is how many governments express their undying affection for education. With slogans. And speeches. And commemorative T-shirts. Meanwhile, teachers are left calculating whether this month’s electricity bill is more urgent than next month’s rent.
Now zoom in on Southeast Asia. Specifically, Indonesia: a country of deep traditions, and a constitutionally mandated 20% education budget that somehow always forgets to invite teachers to the party. If education is the backbone of national development, Indonesia is standing upright only through the generous application of hope.
And so we find ourselves at a crossroads, in a country that claims to revere its educators while systematically undervaluing them. It’s not just about the money… but the money would help.
Indonesia: Where “Teacher” Rhymes with “Afterthought”
Indonesia is a statistical outlier. And not the delightful kind that wins you applause at global education conferences. No, Indonesia is the sort of outlier that makes researchers tilt their heads and double-check their data source.
At one point in the late 2000s, Indonesian public school teachers were paid just 40% of GDP per capita. That’s not a typo or a rounding error. That’s an actual policy outcome. In practical terms, you could make more selling grilled satay off a moped, and you wouldn’t have to grade homework.
And yet, Indonesia is not some budget-starved, post-conflict state scraping pennies together. It’s a G20 country with a constitutional mandate to spend 20% of its budget on education. But somehow, the money consistently takes the scenic route and never quite makes it to teachers’ bank accounts.
The response? Reform. In 2005, the government rolled out a new certification scheme. The premise was simple: prove your professionalism, and your salary doubles. Teachers jumped through hoops, filled out forms, attended workshops, and at the end of it all... student learning outcomes remained exactly where they were: low.
The program was evaluated through a gold-standard randomized control trial (RCT). The result? Learning didn’t improve. Teachers got more money, but students didn’t get smarter.
So now, every time someone proposes raising teacher pay again, someone else shouts: “But remember that time we gave them money and learning didn’t budge?”
Yes. Because if one pilot doesn’t work, we throw the entire idea in the trash, obviously.
Africa’s Low-Income Countries: “We Have No Money, But At Least We’re Trying”
Let’s take a quick trip to Sub-Saharan Africa, where GDP per capita often can’t buy a decent used bicycle. And yet, teaching in many of these countries is not only a respectable profession, but one that pays relatively well.
We’re talking 300 to 500 percent of GDP per capita in places like Burkina Faso, Zambia, and Ethiopia. The very same countries that struggle with electricity, school infrastructure, and chalk availability somehow manage to pay their teachers more generously relative to national income, compared to middle-income countries that can afford megaprojects and decorative fountains in city roundabouts.
Now, are these systems models of educational utopia? Not even close. Many are held together with overworked staff, class sizes hover around 60+, and textbooks might still be considered luxury items. But the critical distinction is they’re making an effort. The salary ratios don’t scream luxury, but they do show intent. In policy terms, these countries are saying, “We’re broke, but at least we know what matters.”
Meanwhile, Indonesia with it’s growing economy, substantial education budget, and no shortage of ceremony when it comes to praising teachers, is still paying them like it’s subsidized charity work. You have to ask: if Burkina Faso, with a GDP per capita the size of a modest dinner bill, can position teachers as essential, why can’t a G20 economy?
Some will say it’s complicated. And sure, it is. But not that complicated.
Burkina Faso is broke and still manages to show its teachers respect through pay. Indonesia has money, and yet... here we are.
Let that marinate for a while.
High-Income Countries That Still Pay Teachers Well
It’s often assumed that in high-income countries, teachers are destined to be underpaid in relative terms. The logic goes something like this: as GDP per capita rises, surely you can’t keep paying teachers at 200 percent of it. It would bankrupt the system, right? Teachers would start earning banker money, and that would disrupt the natural social order.
And yet, some countries have the audacity to do just that.
Take Germany, for example. Teachers there are civil servants, meaning they’re paid well, enjoy strong legal protections, and are so secure in their jobs you’d need an exorcist, not an HR process, to remove them. Imagine valuing teachers enough to make their employment stable and their compensation respectable.
Then there’s Cyprus, punching way above its weight with teacher salaries hovering around 160 percent of GDP per capita. Sure, the country has its own issues, but at least when they say education is a priority, teachers can hear the echo of that statement in their pay slips.
And of course, South Korea. Korea manages to pay its teachers well. They sit high in the social hierarchy, well-respected and relatively well-compensated. They are not, notably, filming viral “help me buy a printer” videos on social media.
These countries prove something that feels borderline scandalous in public policy circles: you can be wealthy and still treat your teachers like professionals instead of volunteers with pensions. You can, in fact, be rich and not forget who helped build your workforce in the first place.
It’s almost as if teacher pay is an investment.
But... But... Constraints! (aka “The Budget Ate My Homework”)
Now, to be fair, let’s give Indonesia its turn at the podium. Yes, there are constraints. Real ones. Structural ones. The kind of constraints that, when spoken in policy circles, immediately draw a knowing nod and a shift in blame.
To start with, Indonesia’s tax-to-GDP ratio sits at 12 percent. That’s low. Not “developing country average” low; bottom of the regional barrel low. It’s hard to fund anything well when your revenue base has the nutritional content of a rice cracker.
Then there’s the sheer scale. Over 3 million teachers, split across two ministries and 500+ decentralized districts, each with its own local budget logic and a proud tradition of reinventing the wheel. Managing that kind of complexity is difficult.
And, of course, the 2005–2015 certification reform still haunts the corridors of policymaking. It was meant to reward quality. Instead, it rewarded paperwork. Salaries doubled, but test scores didn’t. The result? Bureaucratic trauma, policy PTSD, and a reluctance to ever touch teacher pay again.
So yes, there are reasons. But Africa has constraints too. Real ones. Like inflation eating half your budget in a week. Like conflict zones, droughts, and public health crises. And yet, many low-income African countries still find a way to pay their teachers more relatively than Indonesia does.
So at some point, we need to admit that “constraints” can also be a choice. A comfortable excuse. A padded wall between what’s possible and what’s politically convenient.
Every politician loves to say that “education is the key to the future.” It’s a timeless line. Safe, catchy, and perfectly engineered for campaign posters and viral social media content. Nothing says commitment like standing in a classroom for five minutes while pretending to understand the curriculum.
But teachers are not keys. They’re the people who forge the keys, fix the lock, and then explain how doors work. And when you pay them a fraction of what your GDP says you could, you’re not unlocking anything.
Indonesia is Exhibit A in this. A country with legal guarantees to fund education, but where teachers are still fighting for scraps at the bottom of the salary ladder. Meanwhile, countries with half the income and twice the hardship somehow manage to treat teachers like the essential professionals they are.
So here’s the callout: if your system values education, prove it. Pay reflects priority. If all you can offer teachers is national pride and budgetary excuses, then don’t be surprised when learning outcomes politely excuse themselves from the room.
Respect is measurable. Start measuring it in money.
At StratEx - Indonesia Business Advisory we work with stakeholders to turn policy intentions into workforce planning, and compensation strategy. Contact us to align compensation models with the values your organization claims to stand for.