Ireland: Real current public expenditure on education, 2003-2012
Ireland: Real current public expenditure on education, 2003-2012
- Real expenditure per student in Ireland increased by 16.4% at first level and by 11.6% at second level over the period 2003-2012.
- However, at third level there was a decrease of a fifth (20.1%) in real expenditure per student over the same time period.
- Real expenditure per student in 2012 at primary level was three-quarters (74.5%) that at third level.
- In 2003, real expenditure per student at second level was just under three-quarters (74.2%) that at third level but by 2012 it stood at €8,735, which was just ahead of the third level figure of €8,417.
Ireland: Student numbers by level, 2003-2012
Ireland: Student numbers by level, 2003-2012
- Student numbers increased by 17% at first level between 2003 and 2012, increasing from 444,644 to 520,444.
- Between 2003 and 2006 the number of second level students dropped from 338,679 to 332,929. The numbers increased steadily over the following six years to stand at 360,567 in 2012, an increase of 6.5% on the 2003 figure.
- The number of full-time third level students increased strongly by nearly a quarter (24.1%) between 2003 and 2012 while the number of part-time students increased slightly by 0.3%.
EU: Public expenditure on education, 2008-2010
- Public expenditure on education in Ireland as a percentage of both GDP and GNI increased between 2008 and 2010, due mainly to the decrease in GDP and GNI over this time period.
- When expenditure is examined per pupil/student in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), Ireland has the sixth highest expenditure in the EU.
- Average public expenditure on education, as a % of GDP, was 5.4% in the EU in 2009.
EU: Ratio of students to teachers, 2010/2011
- Ireland had a student to teacher ratio of 15.7 at primary education level in 2010/2011. This was the eleventh highest ratio in the EU. The lowest ratios of 9.9 were in Lithuania and Luxembourg.
- The overall student to teacher ratio for first and second level education for Ireland in 2010/2011 was 15.1 which was the sixth highest out of the 26 countries in the EU for which data was available.
- The highest overall student to teacher ratio for first and second level education was in the United Kingdom at 17.7 while the lowest was in Lithuania at 8.1.
EU: Primary and lower secondary average class size, 2010/2011
- The average class size in Ireland for primary education was 24.1, the second highest among reporting EU countries, after the United Kingdom, at 24.8.
- The lowest average class size for primary education was 15.3 in Lithuania.
- At lower secondary level, Ireland had the ninth lowest average class size at 20.3. The lowest was in Latvia at 15.6 while the highest was in France at 24.7.
EU: Persons aged 25-34 with third level education, 2012
Ireland: Persons aged 25-34 with third level education, 2003-2012
- In 2012, 46.9% of the population aged 25-34 in Ireland had third level education, which was the fourth highest rate in the EU and compares with 34.8% across the EU as a whole.
- In all EU countries more females than males aged 25-34 had third level education while Latvia had the highest percentage points differential of 25.8%.
- In Ireland, over half (53%) of females aged 25-34 had a third level qualification, compared to 40.4% of males.
- The proportion of the the population aged 25-34 in Ireland with third level education has risen steadily in recent years, from 36.7% in 2003 to 46.9% in 2012. (See chart for data.)
EU: Student performance on the reading, mathematical and scientific literacy scales, 2012
- Ireland had the 8th highest mathematical literacy for 15 year old students among participating EU countries in 2012, with a score of 501, above the OECD average of 494. The highest scores in the EU were in the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland.
- In reading literacy, Ireland had the second highest score in 2012 among participating EU countries, with a score of 523 and was well above the OCED average of 496. The highest score in the EU was in Finland at 524.
- Ireland ranked 6th highest for scientific literacy with a score of 522, compared to an OECD average of 501. Finland, Estonia and Poland had the highest scores in the EU for scientific literacy.
EU: Early school leavers, 2012
- The proportion of persons aged 18-24 who left school with, at most, lower secondary education in Ireland was 9.7% in 2012.
- The EU average rate was 12.8% and varied from about one in twenty five (4.4%) in Slovenia to nearly a quarter (24.9%) in Spain.
- The proportion of males aged 18-24 who left school early is higher than females in all EU countries with the sole exception of Bulgaria.
Ireland: Mathematics, Science and Technology graduates, 2001-2010
Ireland: Mathematics, Science and Technology graduates, 2001-2010
- Over the period 2001 to 2006 the proportion of male mathematics, science and technology graduates in Ireland was close to or above 30 per 1,000 males aged 20-29.
- The proportion fell in 2007 to 25.5, rose to 27.1 in 2008, fell again in 2009 to 24.1 and increased to 29.3 in 2010.
- The proportion of female graduates in these disciplines fell by a third between 2001 and 2010, from 16.8 per 1,000 females aged 20-29 to 11.2.
