Government expenditure on education in Ireland
Ireland: Government expenditure on education was 2.9 in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
2.9
Change on year
down 9.0%
World rank
59th
of 68 countries
All-time high
6.16
in 2009
All-time low
2.9
in 2021
Years of data
49
1971–2021
Government expenditure on education in Ireland, 1971–2021
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 2.9 for government expenditure on education in 2021. 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 in Ireland peaked at 6.16 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 2.9, in 2021.
Ireland ranks 59th of 68 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 in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4.49 | — |
| 1972 | 4.62 | +2.9% |
| 1973 | 4.61 | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 4.69 | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 4.3 | -8.3% |
| 1977 | 5.09 | +18.4% |
| 1978 | 5.07 | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 5.29 | +4.4% |
| 1980 | 5.32 | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 5.73 | +7.7% |
| 1982 | 5.39 | -6.0% |
| 1983 | 5.45 | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 5.28 | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 5.25 | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 5.3 | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 5.53 | +4.3% |
| 1988 | 5.02 | -9.3% |
| 1989 | 4.71 | -6.0% |
| 1990 | 4.6 | -2.4% |
| 1991 | 4.78 | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 5.01 | +4.7% |
| 1993 | 5.12 | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 5.19 | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 4.87 | -6.1% |
| 1996 | 4.75 | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 4.29 | -9.8% |
| 1999 | 4.13 | -3.6% |
| 2000 | 4.13 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 4.09 | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 4.1 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 4.2 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 4.48 | +6.6% |
| 2005 | 4.52 | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 4.55 | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 4.72 | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 5.46 | +15.8% |
| 2009 | 6.16 | +12.8% |
| 2010 | 6.05 | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 5.77 | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 5.71 | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 5.23 | -8.3% |
| 2014 | 4.74 | -9.5% |
| 2015 | 3.62 | -23.5% |
| 2016 | 3.66 | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 3.38 | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 3.3 | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 3.23 | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 3.19 | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 2.9 | -9.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.77 | 4.3 | 5.29 | 8 |
| 1980s | 5.3 | 4.71 | 5.73 | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.75 | 4.13 | 5.19 | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.64 | 4.09 | 6.16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.47 | 3.23 | 6.05 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.05 | 2.9 | 3.19 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 56 Jordan 3.23 compare
- 57 Türkiye 3.1 compare
- 58 Albania 3.09 compare
- 60 San Marino 2.9 compare
- 61 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2.82 compare
- 62 Liechtenstein 2.56 compare
More education data for Ireland
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education in Ireland?
- Government expenditure on education in Ireland was 2.9 in 2021, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 6.16 in 2009.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9 in 2021.
- How does Ireland rank for government expenditure on education?
- Ireland ranks 59th out of 68 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on education 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 UNICEF, published as part of Government expenditure on education (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).