The bar chart compares the number of hours teachers spent teaching at primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary levels in Japan, Spain, Iceland, and the USA in 2001.
Overall, teachers in the USA spent the most time teaching at all three educational stages, while Japan recorded the lowest figures, particularly at the upper secondary level. In every country, teaching hours increased with the level of education.
At the primary level, teachers in the USA taught for about 750 hours annually, which was significantly higher than those in Spain (around 650 hours), Iceland (approximately 600 hours), and Japan (just over 600 hours). A similar pattern can be seen in lower secondary education, where the USA again led with roughly 1,000 hours, followed by Spain at about 900 hours. Iceland and Japan recorded lower figures, at around 800 and 650 hours respectively.
The greatest differences appeared at the upper secondary level. American teachers taught for approximately 1,200 hours, far exceeding Spain (about 1,050 hours) and Iceland (around 900 hours). Japan remained the lowest, at roughly 700 hours.
In summary, the USA had by far the heaviest teaching workload across all levels, while Japan consistently had the lightest.