Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland
Ireland: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.8% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
0.8%
Change on year
down 8.2%
World rank
88th
of 173 countries
All-time high
1.5%
in 2009
All-time low
0.6%
in 1971
Years of data
49
1971–2021
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland, 1971–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland stood at 0.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.2% on the previous year and down 39.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland peaked at 1.5% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1971.
Ireland ranks 88th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.6% | — |
| 1972 | 0.8% | +19.6% |
| 1973 | 0.7% | -7.6% |
| 1974 | 0.7% | +3.2% |
| 1976 | 0.8% | +8.9% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | +26.6% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 1.1% | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 1981 | 1.1% | +7.2% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | -9.5% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | -10.1% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | +5.3% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | +5.6% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +10.7% |
| 1988 | 1.0% | -10.1% |
| 1989 | 0.9% | -5.3% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | +7.7% |
| 1991 | 1.0% | +2.8% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | +9.2% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | -4.9% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | -7.1% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 1.3% | +11.5% |
| 2001 | 1.2% | -6.7% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 1.0% | -7.9% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | +15.3% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | +15.1% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 1.2% | -2.6% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | -7.8% |
| 2014 | 1.0% | -12.3% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -14.3% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -15.3% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | +30.8% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | -8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 85 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.8% compare
- 86 Serbia 0.8% compare
- 87 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.8% compare
- 89 British Virgin Islands 0.8% compare
- 90 Iran, Islamic Republic of 0.7% compare
- 91 Japan 0.7% 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 tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Ireland was 0.8% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1971.
- How does Ireland rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Ireland ranks 88th out of 173 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.7%. 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 tertiary 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