Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland
Ireland: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal was 1.38 GPIA in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.38 GPIA
Change on year
up 15.2%
World rank
8th
of 102 countries
All-time high
1.38 GPIA
in 2023
All-time low
0.6977 GPIA
in 1990
Years of data
30
1990–2023
Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland, 1990–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2023, participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland stood at 1.38 GPIA. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
That represents a change of up 15.2% on the previous year and up 30.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland peaked at 1.38 GPIA in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.6977 GPIA, in 1990.
Ireland ranks 8th of 102 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.6977 GPIA | — |
| 1991 | 0.8274 GPIA | +18.6% |
| 1992 | 0.8711 GPIA | +5.3% |
| 1993 | 0.933 GPIA | +7.1% |
| 1994 | 0.9882 GPIA | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 0.9474 GPIA | -4.1% |
| 1996 | 0.9955 GPIA | +5.1% |
| 1997 | 1.02 GPIA | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 1.26 GPIA | +24.3% |
| 2003 | 1.24 GPIA | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 1.27 GPIA | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 1.29 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 1.35 GPIA | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 1.3 GPIA | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 1.25 GPIA | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 1.17 GPIA | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 1.06 GPIA | -8.7% |
| 2011 | 1.07 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 1.06 GPIA | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.06 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 1.13 GPIA | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 1.14 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 1.09 GPIA | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 1.19 GPIA | +9.4% |
| 2018 | 1.28 GPIA | +7.0% |
| 2019 | 1.24 GPIA | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 1.26 GPIA | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 1.12 GPIA | -10.8% |
| 2022 | 1.2 GPIA | +6.7% |
| 2023 | 1.38 GPIA | +15.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 1.38 GPIA is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.2 GPIA, 1.1× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 1.38 GPIA is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.19 GPIA, 1.2× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.9096 GPIA | 0.6977 GPIA | 1.02 GPIA | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.27 GPIA | 1.17 GPIA | 1.35 GPIA | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.13 GPIA | 1.06 GPIA | 1.28 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.24 GPIA | 1.12 GPIA | 1.38 GPIA | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
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 participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland?
- Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal in Ireland was 1.38 GPIA in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.38 GPIA in 2023.
- What is the lowest participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6977 GPIA in 1990.
- How does Ireland rank for participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal?
- Ireland ranks 8th out of 102 countries with data for 2023.
- Is participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.6%. 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 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 25-54 years old, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release