An analysis of 91 international-school job application data reveals that, in 2025, the Middle East was the most popular destination for UK teachers applying for jobs overseas, with four out of the top 10 most desirable destinations being Gulf states.
Those nations were the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in first position, Qatar in second, Saudi Arabia in fifth, and Kuwait in tenth position.
However, the analysis, entitled The candidate migration report, notes that the data does not cover 2026, and that recent events in the Middle East, with the Gulf states being dragged into the war between Iran and Israel and the US, could have “a profound impact by curtailing teacher demand for the region”.
European countries, meanwhile, are represented in the top 10 by Spain and Portugal, in positions third and ninth, respectively.
China is not as popular as might be expected given the size of its international schools market, but it does make it into eighth place. The other nations rounding out the top 10 are Thailand in fourth, Singapore in sixth, and Malaysia in seventh.
In total, the report shows, 121,212 UK teachers applied for jobs overseas in 2025 - up from 112,477 in 2023 but down from 128,299 in 2024.
This fluctuation in the number of applicants - with a dip in 2025 - was not seen in the US, however, where the number of US teachers applying for posts abroad has risen steadily, from 22,405 in 2023 to 22,958 in 2024, and then 24,022 in 2025.
The report suggests this was “a possible indicator of the ‘Trump effect’”, with teachers seeking to leave the country for international opportunities.
Meanwhile, the US was the 15th most popular destination for UK teachers, with the report noting: “The US remains popular but has fallen notably since 2023, when it was 10th.”
The report also features data on the movement of educators between countries abroad, as well as internal movement within many of the nations already mentioned, plus interesting additions from other parts of the world.
To read the full insights, download the report for free.
Teaching ‘is a global passport’
Looking at the 91 data overall, Colin Bell, CEO of the Council of British International Schools, said a teaching qualification is now “a global passport”.
And it is not just the prospect of better pay that is taking UK teachers overseas, he insisted. “It’s definitely about personal and professional growth - that’s the attraction for colleagues taking their careers internationally.”
Mr Bell made his comments during a webinar discussion - - where a panel of school leaders discussed the report’s key findings.
Also on the panel - hosted by 91 head of international Dan Worth - were Joanna Povall, principal of Wales International School in Abu Dhabi; Matt Seddon, head of secondary at Bangkok Patana School in Thailand; and Abigail Kay, deputy head of The English Montessori School in Spain.
Ms Povall said she had been braced for “a huge drop in people applying” to her Abu Dhabi school because of the Iran war, but, ultimately, she “hadn’t seen that at all”.
She put this down to “Dubai bling” and people continuing to seek out a better quality of life.
However, more recent figures collated by 91 and shared on the webinar show that the war has had an impact on applications.
The more recent data compared the number of UK applicants looking for work in countries such as the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in March and April this year with the same months in 2025.
It showed a significant drop in UK teachers looking for work in the region. Thousands did continue to apply, however, and with talks aimed at ending the war ongoing, the region’s prospects could rebound quickly. This is reflected in the likes of Dukes Education continuing to look at expansion in the region.
At Ms Povall’s school, while applications remain healthy, the war has impacted staff retention, she said.
Last year, Ms Povall said, she was “so proud” of the school’s 90 per cent retention rate, but this has since dropped, mainly because of primary staff deciding to “go back to the UK, for obvious reasons”.
Changing market patterns
Ms Kay, meanwhile, whose school is in Madrid, said she had seen an uptick in the number of teachers applying from the Middle East.
She suggested that due to “recent world events”, perhaps preferences were “changing a little bit”.
She put Spain’s enduring popularity down to its proximity to the UK, as well as its familiarity - be that through family holidays or because Spanish is a popular language in UK schools.
“A cheap flight and you can be [in the UK] in a couple of hours, which is quite reassuring,” she said.
Nevertheless, Spain is not immune to the changes that the report highlights as being responsible for other European nations’ decline in popularity.
It points out that while “cultural similarities” had made European nations “desirable destinations” for UK teachers, many were now “expensive”, with “administrative hurdles for British citizens...following Brexit, including new visa requirements”.
Ms Kay acknowledged this, saying schools like hers now needed to recruit “well in advance”, since getting a visa “can take four to six months”.
However, because hers is a British school, it still recruits “mainly” UK teachers, she said - something that was echoed by Mr Seddon in Thailand, who said staff at Bangkok Patana School were “predominantly British”.
The 91 report identifies Thailand as the fourth most popular destination for UK teachers and predicts this “strong interest” will continue, with more schools - such as Scotland’s Glenalmond College - planning to open in the country.
Mr Seddon put the country’s popularity down to its beauty - as well as the fact that it is “very, very welcoming”, “very safe”, and “generally holds quite a neutral position in the world”.
“It’s quite predictable year on year, and I think people know what they are going to get with Thailand,” he said.
