Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland
Ireland: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 2.9% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland, 1971–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland stood at 2.9%. That is the lowest value across all 49 years on record.
That represents a change of down 9.0% on the previous year and down 49.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland peaked at 6.2% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2021.
Ireland ranks 152nd of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4.5% | — |
| 1972 | 4.6% | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 4.6% | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 4.7% | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 4.3% | -8.3% |
| 1977 | 5.1% | +18.4% |
| 1978 | 5.1% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 5.3% | +4.4% |
| 1980 | 5.3% | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 5.7% | +7.7% |
| 1982 | 5.4% | -6.0% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 5.3% | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 5.2% | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 5.3% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 5.5% | +4.3% |
| 1988 | 5.0% | -9.3% |
| 1989 | 4.7% | -6.0% |
| 1990 | 4.6% | -2.4% |
| 1991 | 4.8% | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 5.0% | +4.7% |
| 1993 | 5.1% | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 5.2% | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 4.9% | -6.1% |
| 1996 | 4.8% | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 4.3% | -9.8% |
| 1999 | 4.1% | -3.6% |
| 2000 | 4.1% | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 4.1% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 4.1% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 4.2% | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 4.5% | +6.6% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 4.5% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 5.5% | +15.8% |
| 2009 | 6.2% | +12.8% |
| 2010 | 6.0% | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 5.8% | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 5.7% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 5.2% | -8.3% |
| 2014 | 4.7% | -9.5% |
| 2015 | 3.6% | -23.5% |
| 2016 | 3.7% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 3.4% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 3.3% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 2.9% | -9.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.8% | 4.3% | 5.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.3% | 4.7% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.7% | 4.1% | 5.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.6% | 4.1% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.5% | 3.2% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.0% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 149 Madagascar 3.0% compare
- 150 Turks and Caicos Islands 2.9% compare
- 151 Ghana 2.9% compare
- 153 San Marino 2.9% compare
- 154 Viet Nam 2.9% compare
- 155 Nicaragua 2.9% compare
More education data for Ireland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 32,531 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,942 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,745 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 49,975 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 456,625 (2022)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 548,873 (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.49 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1053 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland was 2.9% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 6.2% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2021.
- How does Ireland rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Ireland ranks 152nd out of 199 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release