Initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland
Ireland: Initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of was 15.4% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland, 1998–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2021, initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland stood at 15.4%.
That represents a change of down 10.7% on the previous year and down 47.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland peaked at 36.2% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 15.3%, in 2016.
Ireland ranks 97th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 28.4% | — |
| 1999 | 27.9% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 29.6% | +6.3% |
| 2001 | 27.1% | -8.6% |
| 2002 | 25.1% | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 22.8% | -9.1% |
| 2004 | 22.2% | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 23.0% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 24.7% | +7.7% |
| 2007 | 25.4% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 31.8% | +25.2% |
| 2009 | 36.2% | +13.7% |
| 2010 | 31.4% | -13.2% |
| 2011 | 29.2% | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 28.3% | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 24.1% | -14.8% |
| 2014 | 21.2% | -11.8% |
| 2015 | 17.7% | -16.6% |
| 2016 | 15.3% | -13.9% |
| 2017 | 20.1% | +31.6% |
| 2018 | 18.8% | -6.3% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 17.2% | -3.8% |
| 2021 | 15.4% | -10.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 28.1% | 27.9% | 28.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.8% | 22.2% | 36.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.4% | 15.3% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.3% | 15.4% | 17.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 94 Macau, China 16.7% compare
- 95 Bangladesh 16.6% compare
- 96 Republic of Korea 16.0% compare
- 98 Israel 14.9% compare
- 99 Singapore 14.1% compare
- 100 Panama 13.8% 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 initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland?
- Initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of in Ireland was 15.4% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 36.2% in 2009.
- What is the lowest initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.3% in 2016.
- How does Ireland rank for initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of?
- Ireland ranks 97th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.3%. 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 Initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release