Inequality in education in Ireland
Ireland: Inequality in education was 0.0255 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Inequality in education in Ireland, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, inequality in education in Ireland stood at 0.0255. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 15.7% on the previous year and down 48.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, inequality in education in Ireland peaked at 0.0555 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.0255, in 2023.
That places Ireland 166th out of 184 regions with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.0407 | 0.032 | 0.0555 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0278 | 0.0255 | 0.0303 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More education data for Ireland
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (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)
- School enrollment, primary 96.5% (2022)
- Primary education, teachers 42,162 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.6 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.6% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is inequality in education in Ireland?
- Inequality in education in Ireland was 0.0255 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest inequality in education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0555 in 2012.
- What is the lowest inequality in education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0255 in 2023.
- How does Ireland rank for inequality in education?
- Ireland ranks 166th out of 184 regions with data for 2023.
- Is inequality in education rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 48.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Inequality in education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of the number of years adults older than 25 participated in formal education.