Government expenditure on education, constant PPP$ in Ireland
Ireland: Government expenditure on education, constant PPP$ was 18,765 millions in 2021. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education, constant PPP$ in Ireland, 1990–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in millions.
Analysis
In 2021, government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ in Ireland stood at 18,765 millions. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.8% on the previous year and up 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ in Ireland peaked at 18,765 millions in 2021 and was at its lowest, 5,173 millions, in 1990.
Ireland ranks 44th of 166 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education, constant PPP$ in Ireland, year by year
| Year | millions | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5,173 millions | — |
| 1991 | 5,482 millions | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 5,929 millions | +8.2% |
| 1993 | 6,223 millions | +4.9% |
| 1994 | 6,675 millions | +7.3% |
| 1995 | 6,871 millions | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 7,200 millions | +4.8% |
| 1998 | 7,841 millions | +8.9% |
| 1999 | 8,356 millions | +6.6% |
| 2000 | 9,138 millions | +9.4% |
| 2001 | 9,519 millions | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 10,123 millions | +6.3% |
| 2003 | 10,682 millions | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 12,162 millions | +13.8% |
| 2005 | 12,963 millions | +6.6% |
| 2006 | 13,696 millions | +5.6% |
| 2007 | 14,956 millions | +9.2% |
| 2008 | 16,536 millions | +10.6% |
| 2009 | 17,699 millions | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 17,682 millions | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 17,152 millions | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 16,894 millions | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 15,824 millions | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 15,661 millions | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 14,936 millions | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 15,263 millions | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 15,504 millions | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 16,309 millions | +5.2% |
| 2019 | 16,750 millions | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 17,736 millions | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 18,765 millions | +5.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6,639 millions | 5,173 millions | 8,356 millions | 9 |
| 2000s | 12,747 millions | 9,138 millions | 17,699 millions | 10 |
| 2010s | 16,198 millions | 14,936 millions | 17,682 millions | 10 |
| 2020s | 18,251 millions | 17,736 millions | 18,765 millions | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More education data for Ireland
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 42,162 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ in Ireland?
- Government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ in Ireland was 18,765 millions in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 18,765 millions in 2021.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 5,173 millions in 1990.
- How does Ireland rank for government expenditure on education, constant ppp$?
- Ireland ranks 44th out of 166 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on education, constant ppp$ rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on education, constant PPP$ (millions). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release