Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland
Ireland: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.0% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
1.0%
Change on year
down 9.5%
World rank
110th
of 162 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 2009
All-time low
1.0%
in 2021
Years of data
49
1971–2021
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland, 1971–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 1.0% for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 49 years on record.
That represents a change of down 9.5% on the previous year and down 50.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland peaked at 2.2% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2021.
That places Ireland 110th out of 162 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.8% | — |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 1.6% | -6.9% |
| 1974 | 1.7% | +2.4% |
| 1976 | 1.6% | -5.7% |
| 1977 | 1.8% | +12.9% |
| 1978 | 1.9% | +3.4% |
| 1979 | 1.9% | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 1.9% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 2.1% | +8.5% |
| 1982 | 2.0% | -5.1% |
| 1983 | 1.5% | -23.3% |
| 1984 | 1.5% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 1.5% | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 1.6% | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 1.4% | -9.3% |
| 1989 | 1.4% | -4.8% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | -4.1% |
| 1991 | 1.4% | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 1.4% | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 1.4% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | -9.1% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | -5.9% |
| 1998 | 1.4% | +21.2% |
| 1999 | 1.3% | -6.8% |
| 2000 | 1.3% | -2.5% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | +7.7% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 1.7% | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | +18.7% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | +12.1% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | -9.9% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -22.5% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | -14.4% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | -9.5% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 1.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 93% of the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 1.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.1%, 90% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 107 Albania 1.0% compare
- 108 Saint Lucia 1.0% compare
- 109 Panama 1.0% compare
- 111 Guinea 1.0% compare
- 112 Liechtenstein 1.0% compare
- 113 Bangladesh 1.0% 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 primary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland was 1.0% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2021.
- How does Ireland rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Ireland ranks 110th out of 162 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.9%. 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 primary 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