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Advancing the Science and Practice of School Psychology  
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International Ratios

How many school psychologists are there in each country of the world? Findings from this study indicate over 76,100 school psychologists throughout 51 countries from which estimates were available as of 2007. When considering the total number of school psychologists in a given country, it is essential to also consider the number of school-age children. The school psychologist to student ratio provides an omnibus indicator of the relative development of the profession of school psychology in countries around the world. Calculations of the ratio of school psychologists to school-age children, revealed that only 4 countries currently appear to approximate the 1 school psychologist to 1,000 students ratio advocated as optimal by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) in the United States. Furthermore, many of the countries with the largest populations of school-age children in the world have the fewest school psychologists.  

We encourage any individuals who have updated information, than what is provided in the following table, to contact Dr. Jimerson so that our information will reflect the most current trends. 

Country

Number of School Psychologists

Number of School-age children
(using a standard 12 years of compulsory education)

Number of School-age Children
(using country-specific years of compulsory education)

Estimated ratio of school-age children per SP (using a standard 12 years of compulsory education)

Estimated ratio of school-age children per SPª
(using country-specific years of compulsory education)

Israel       

2,100

1,336,538

1,225,160

636

583

Norway       

945

711,305

652,029

753

690

Denmark      

880

815,963

679,969

927

773

Estonia      

150

160,763

120,572

1,072

804

Lithuania       

400

444,277

333,208

1,111

833

Switzerland      

800

983,106

737,329

1,229

922

Turkey       

11,327

14,346,637

10,759,978

1,267

950

Spain        

3,600

4,657,609

4,269,475

1,294

1,186

Canada*       

3,500

4,672,959

4,283,546

1,335

1,224

Scotland*      

427

588,347

588,347

1,378

1,378

United States*    

32,300

48,649,375

48,649,375

1,506

1,506

Australia*       

2,000

3,174,492

2,909,951

1,587

1,455

Netherlands      

1,400

2,368,410

2,565,778

1,692

1,833

Finland      

300

715,311

596,093

2,384

1,987

France       

3,200

8,905,092

8,163,001

2,783

2,551

Syria        

2,000

5,582,110

4,186,582

2,791

2,093

Greece*       

400

1,226,554

919,916

3,066

2,300

United Kingdom (England & Wales)*

2,647

8,463,502

8,463,502

3,197

3,197

New Zealand*      

200

687,141

687,141

3,436

3,436

Slovakia*      

200

727,417

606,181

3,637

3,031

Cyprus*       

35

128,038

96,029

3,658

2,744

Japan        

3,500

14,527,200

12,106,000

4,151

3,459

Romania*      

650

2,805,682

1,870,454

4,316

2,878

Georgia      

130

646,599

484,949

4,974

3,730

Malta        

11

54,906

50,330

4,991

4,575

Ireland      

128

678,142

565,118

5,298

4,415

Hungary      

200

1,243,642

1,036,368

6,218

5,182

Puerto Rico      

100

670,475

670,475

6,705

6,705

China - Hong Kong*    

96

747,360

560,520

7,785

5,839

United Arab Emirates  

64

518,924

389,193

8,108

6,081

South Africa*     

1,178

10,503,224

7,877,418

8,916

6,687

Albania      

79

710,366

473,578

8,992

5,995

Germany      

982

9,311,526

10,087,487

9,482

10,272

Namibia       

18

624,820

520,683

34,712

     28,927

Venezuela       

150

5,984,445

4,987,037

39,896

33,247

Botswana      

12

502,884

419,070

41,907

34,923

Trinidad and Tobago  

4

171,210

99,872

42,802

24,968

Nigeria*      

500

44,595,383

33,446,537

89,191

     66,893

Zimbabwe      

32

3,657,974

2,133,818

114,312

66,682

South Korea*      

40

7,369,778

5,527,333

184,244

138,183

Eritrea      

8

1,685,130

982,993

210,641

122,874

Zambia       

10

4,264,127

2,487,408

426,413

248,741

Uganda       

18

11,270,518

6,574,469

626,140

365,248

Jamaica      

1

730,782

365,391

730,782

   365,391

Kenya        

15

11,821,516

7,881,011

788,101

525,401

Pakistan      

40

 48,617,400

   20,257,250

1,215,435

   506,431

Tanzania      

3

13,104,866

7,644,505

4,368,289

2,548,168

Total

76,780

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Where in The World Is School Psychology?
A list of evidence of school psychology for each of the 192 member states of the United Nations.

International Ratios
Ratios of school psychologists to school-age children in 51 countries of the world.

International School Psychology Survey
An ongoing study obtaining information from school psychologists in countries around the world.

School Psychology International Survey
A survey completed by country coordinators to advance our understanding of school psychology around the world.