Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Ireland
Ireland: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 12.3% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Ireland, 1981–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 12.3% for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.1% on the previous year and down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Ireland peaked at 14.8% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 9.3%, in 2010.
Ireland ranks 105th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11.5% | 9.8% | 14.8% | 9 |
| 1990s | 12.3% | 11.4% | 12.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 13.2% | 12.5% | 13.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 9.3% | 13.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.2% | 12.0% | 12.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More economy & growth data for Ireland
- Exports of goods and services 894.58 billion current LCU (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 37.8% (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 428.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 379.31 billion current LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 318.53 billion constant 2015 US$ (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 209.63 billion constant LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 59.4% (2025)
- Exports of goods and services 1.01 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation 142.02 billion current LCU (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation 160.48 billion current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Ireland?
- Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Ireland was 12.3% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 14.8% in 1981.
- What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.3% in 2010.
- How does Ireland rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
- Ireland ranks 105th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.