Initial government funding per upper secondary student as a in Ireland
Ireland: Initial government funding per upper secondary student as a was 10.5% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Initial government funding per upper secondary student as a in Ireland, 1998–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2021, initial government funding per upper secondary student as a in Ireland stood at 10.5%. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 13.6% on the previous year and down 65.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, initial government funding per upper secondary student as a in Ireland peaked at 31.4% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 10.5%, in 2021.
That places Ireland 84th out of 99 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Initial government funding per upper secondary student as a in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 17.6% | — |
| 1999 | 16.9% | -3.8% |
| 2000 | 16.6% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 17.5% | +5.2% |
| 2002 | 18.1% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 19.8% | +9.3% |
| 2004 | 21.8% | +10.2% |
| 2005 | 21.9% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 23.5% | +7.5% |
| 2007 | 25.6% | +9.0% |
| 2008 | 30.2% | +17.9% |
| 2009 | 31.4% | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 29.6% | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 30.2% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 28.3% | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 25.2% | -10.9% |
| 2014 | 22.9% | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 17.1% | -25.7% |
| 2016 | 16.7% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 11.3% | -32.4% |
| 2018 | 11.9% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 12.1% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 10.5% | -13.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.2% | 16.9% | 17.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 22.6% | 16.6% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.5% | 11.3% | 30.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.4% | 10.5% | 12.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 81 Armenia 11.3% compare
- 82 Afghanistan 11.1% compare
- 83 Nepal 10.7% compare
- 85 Philippines 10.3% compare
- 86 Andorra 10.1% compare
- 87 Liechtenstein 9.6% 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 upper secondary student as a in Ireland?
- Initial government funding per upper secondary student as a in Ireland was 10.5% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest initial government funding per upper secondary student as a recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 31.4% in 2009.
- What is the lowest initial government funding per upper secondary student as a recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.5% in 2021.
- How does Ireland rank for initial government funding per upper secondary student as a?
- Ireland ranks 84th out of 99 countries with data for 2021.
- Is initial government funding per upper secondary student as a rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 65.2%. 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 upper secondary 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