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Table 4.1 Ireland: Real current public expenditure on education, 2008-20181
€ per student at constant 2019 prices€m at 2019 prices
YearLevelReal Current Public Expenditure
PrimarySecondThird
20086,4559,34311,1608,242
20096,6849,41710,5658,530
20106,0588,4069,3398,479
20116,1348,4688,7978,388
20126,1338,5438,3238,185
20135,9597,8377,7028,286
20145,7557,7777,2458,166
20155,9737,8356,9998,451
20165,9067,7716,7748,451
20176,3428,2087,0928,703
20186,7888,7977,2529,192
  Source: Department of Education and Skills, CSO
1Second level includes further education, e.g. post-Leaving Certificate programmes
  • Ireland's real current public expenditure on education (at constant prices) was €9.2bn in 2018. Overall, between 2008 and 2018, real current public expenditure increased by 11.5%.

  • Ireland's current expenditure on primary education increased by 5.2% between 2008 and 2018, from €6,455 per student to €6,788 per student.

  • At secondary level, real expenditure per student decreased by 5.8% between 2008 and 2018, from €9,343 per student in 2008 to €8,797 per student in 2018.

  • Over the same period, real expenditure per student at third level education decreased from €11,160 in 2008 to €7,252 in 2018, a drop of 35.0%.

YearPrimarySecondaryThird Level
20086455934311160
20096684941710565
2010605884069339
2011613484688797
2012613385438323
2013595978377702
2014575577777245
2015597378356999
2016590677716774
2017634282087092
2018678887977252
Table 4.2 Ireland: Number of students by level, 2011-20211,2,3
YearPrimary LevelSecondary LevelThird Level
2011509,652356,107194,269
2012516,458359,047196,846
2013526,422362,847200,641
2014536,317367,178205,407
2015544,696372,296209,322
2016553,380378,003216,603
2017558,314384,237218,243
2018563,459388,281223,743
2019567,772392,267228,503
2020567,716395,611235,697
2021561,411405,003245,663
Source: Department of Education and Skills, Higher Education Authority, CSO
1Year refers to the year at the end of the academic year i.e. 2011 is the school year 2010/2011.
2Only students in institutions aided by the Department of Education and Skills are included.
3Second level includes further education, e.g. post-Leaving Certificate programmes.
  • In 2021 primary school enrolment increased by 10.2% (or 51,759 students) compared with 2011, rising from 509,652 to 561,411.

  • Over the same time period, secondary school enrolment increased by 13.7%.

  • The number of third level students increased by over a quarter (26.5%) in 2021 compared with 2011.

X-axis labelPrimary LevelSecondary LevelThird Level
2011509652356107194269
2012516458359047196846
2013526422362847200641
2014536317367178205407
2015544696372296209322
2016553380378003216603
2017558314384237218243
2018563459388281223743
2019567772392267228503
2020567716395611235697
2021561411405003245663
Table 4.3 By country: Ratio of students to teachers, 20191,2
CountryPrimaryLower SecondaryUpper Secondary
Greece8.77.99.8
Luxembourg9.0:9.2
Poland9.610.49.7
Hungary10.011.311.5
Slovenia10.6:14.0
Italy11.410.910.3
Denmark11.910.811.4
Latvia12.08.911.1
Austria12.08.510.1
Cyprus12.39.68.5
Portugal12.39.19.2
Bulgaria12.511.212.5
Belgium12.78.99.5
Malta12.86.57.5
Estonia12.910.015.4
Sweden13.011.213.0
Croatia13.48.58.0
EU2713.511.911.2
Finland13.58.817.5
Spain13.611.710.4
Lithuania14.59.79.4
Ireland15.0:12.9
Germany15.112.912.4
Netherlands16.416.017.7
Slovakia17.412.713.4
Czech Republic18.712.610.5
France18.814.511.3
Romania19.411.513.4
    
United Kingdom19.916.218.2
    
EFTA Countries:
Liechtenstein10.27.512.3
Norway10.49.710.7
Iceland10.79.9:
    
EU Candidate Countries:
Macedonia14.88.310.3
Turkey17.515.311.5
Source: Eurostat, Department of Education and Skills
1 Data for Ireland is from the Department of Education and Skills. For Ireland, data for Upper Secondary (ISCED Level 3) includes data for both ISCED Level 2 and ISCED Level 3.
2Sorted by "Primary", ascending.
: Data is unavailable.
  • Ireland had a student to teacher ratio of 15.0 for primary level education in 2019. This was the seventh highest ratio in the EU27 and was above the EU27 average of 13.5.

  • The lowest student to teacher ratio for primary education in the EU27 in 2019 was in Greece at 8.7, and the highest was in Romania at 19.4.

  • For secondary level, Ireland had a student to teacher ratio of 12.9 in 2019. The EU27 average for upper secondary was 11.2.

  • In 2019, Malta had the lowest student to teacher ratio in upper secondary at 7.5, and the Netherlands had the highest at 17.7. For lower secondary, Malta also had the lowest at 6.5, and the Netherlands also had the highest at 16.0.

Table 4.4 By country: Persons aged 25-34 with third level education by sex, 20201
% of population aged 25-34
CountryTotal PersonsMalesFemalesDifferential
Luxembourg58.853.264.5-11.3
Cyprus57.046.067.7-21.7
Ireland56.352.560.0-7.5
Lithuania56.345.967.9-22.0
Netherlands50.946.255.8-9.6
Sweden49.040.458.1-17.7
Belgium48.040.355.9-15.6
France47.843.951.5-7.6
Spain46.940.853.1-12.3
Denmark46.638.654.9-16.3
Slovenia44.435.354.7-19.4
Greece43.937.150.9-13.8
Finland43.935.952.3-16.4
Estonia43.232.754.7-22.0
Latvia42.632.453.5-21.1
Portugal41.834.449.1-14.7
Austria40.736.545.2-8.7
Malta39.735.844.4-8.6
EU2739.634.345.1-10.8
Slovakia39.029.349.2-19.9
Poland38.229.447.3-17.9
Croatia36.627.047.0-20.0
Germany34.733.436.1-2.7
Czech Republic32.625.739.9-14.2
Bulgaria32.526.738.6-11.9
Hungary30.024.635.8-11.2
Italy29.123.035.4-12.4
Romania24.621.528.0-6.5
     
United Kingdom::::
     
EFTA Countries:
Switzerland52.151.752.6-0.9
Norway50.641.660.1-18.5
Iceland39.031.547.7-16.2
     
EU Candidate Countries:
Montenegro44.538.750.7-12.0
Macedonia37.431.343.7-12.4
Turkey35.234.036.4-2.4
Serbia32.325.939.0-13.1
Source: Eurostat - Population and Social Conditions
1Sorted by "Total Persons", descending.
: Data is unavailable.
  • More than half (56.3%) of persons aged 25-34 in Ireland had a third level qualification in 2020, above the EU27 average of 39.6%, and the third highest rate in the EU27 (along with Lithuania).
  • Females were more likely to have a third level education compared to males in all EU countries in 2020, with Estonia and Lithuania having the highest percentage point differentials of 22.0.
  • In Ireland, 52.5% of men aged 25-34 had a third level qualification, compared to 60.0% of women.
  • Ireland had the third lowest percentage gender differential between men and women with third level education at 7.5, while Germany had the lowest gender differential at 2.7.
YearEU27Ireland
201031.446.8
201132.346.2
201233.348.1
201334.349.6
201435.150.3
201535.750.9
201636.151.3
201736.951.9
201837.853.7
201938.553.1
202039.656.3
Table 4.5 By country: Student performance on the mathematical, reading and scientific literacy scales, 20181,2
Mean score of 15 year old students
CountryMathematicsReadingScience
Estonia523.4523.0530.1
Netherlands519.2484.8503.4
Poland515.6511.9511.0
Denmark509.4501.1492.6
Slovenia508.9495.3507.0
Belgium508.1492.9498.8
Finland507.3520.1521.9
Sweden502.4505.8499.4
Germany500.0498.3503.0
Ireland499.6518.1496.1
Czech Republic499.5490.2496.8
Austria498.9484.4489.8
Latvia496.1478.7487.3
France495.4492.6493.0
Portugal492.5491.8491.7
OECD Average489.3487.1488.7
Italy486.6476.3468.0
Slovak Republic486.2458.0464.0
Luxembourg483.4470.0476.8
Spain481.4:483.3
Lithuania481.2475.9482.1
Hungary481.1476.0480.9
Greece451.4457.4451.6
    
United Kingdom501.8503.9504.7
    
EFTA Countries:  
Switzerland515.3483.9495.3
Norway501.0499.5490.4
Iceland495.2474.0475.0
    
EU Candidate Countries:  
Turkey453.5465.6468.3
1 Data sourced from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international triennial test given to 15 year - olds (see Appendix 1).
2Sorted by "Mathematics", descending.
: Data is unavailable.
  • The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam is held every three years, with the most recent occurring in 2018 (the 2021 exam has been postponed until 2022). The exam is scored on a scale of 0 to 1,000.
  • The average score of 15 year-olds in Ireland on the mathematical literacy scale was 499.6, the tenth highest in the EU27 and above the OECD average score of 489.3. Estonia had the highest score in this category at 523.4.
  • In reading literacy, Ireland had a score of 518.1 points, the third highest in the EU27. Estonia had the highest reading literacy score at 523.
  • The average score for scientific literacy in Ireland was 496.1, the tenth highest in the EU27 and above the OECD average of 488.7. The three EU27 countries with the highest scientific literacy scores were: Estonia (530.1), Finland (521.9), and Poland (511).
Table 4.6 By country: Young persons aged 18-24 neither in employment nor in education and training by sex, 20201
% of population aged 18-24
CountryTotal PersonsMalesFemalesGender Differential
Italy24.824.924.60.3
Cyprus19.821.318.62.7
Greece19.319.119.4-0.3
Bulgaria18.717.719.7-2.0
Romania18.614.323.2-8.9
Spain18.119.216.82.4
Croatia16.216.316.00.3
Hungary15.512.119.1-7.0
France15.415.615.20.4
Ireland14.815.613.91.7
Lithuania14.516.512.34.2
EU2714.414.214.6-0.4
Slovakia13.912.415.5-3.1
Finland13.114.811.43.4
Portugal12.312.711.90.8
Estonia12.010.413.6-3.2
Poland11.910.713.2-2.5
Belgium11.412.010.81.2
Latvia10.410.110.6-0.5
Slovenia10.19.011.3-2.3
Austria10.011.38.72.6
Denmark9.610.09.10.9
Malta9.611.08.03.0
Sweden9.29.29.10.1
Luxembourg9.011.16.94.2
Czech Republic8.95.512.5-7.0
Germany8.78.58.9-0.4
Netherlands5.96.05.80.2
     
United Kingdom::::
     
EFTA Countries:
Switzerland7.39.15.43.7
Norway6.77.26.11.1
Iceland6.66.56.8-0.3
     
EU Candidate Countries:
Turkey36.226.546.1-19.6
Montenegro27.328.526.02.5
Macedonia26.326.126.6-0.5
Serbia21.022.319.62.7
Source: Eurostat, Population and Social Conditions
1Sorted by "Total Persons", descending.
: Data is unavailable.
  • The NEET rate measures the proportion of young people aged 18-24 who are neither in employment nor in education and training.
  • In 2020, the NEET rate in Ireland was 14.8%, above the EU27 rate of 14.4%. 
  • In the EU27, the Netherlands had the lowest NEET rate at 5.9%, while Italy had the highest at 24.8%.
  • Sixteen countries in the EU27 had higher NEET rates for men. Of these, Lithuania and Luxembourg had the highest gender differentials at 4.2.
  • The remaining eleven countries had higher NEET rates amongst women in 2020, with the largest occurring in Romania at 8.9.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 4.7 By country: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics graduates by sex, 20191
Per 1,000 of population aged 20-29
CountryTotal PersonsMalesFemalesDifferential
Ireland36.949.723.925.8
France27.537.817.320.5
Finland24.835.113.921.2
Germany24.434.713.221.5
Denmark23.730.816.414.4
Austria23.433.313.020.3
Spain20.929.711.917.8
Portugal20.926.415.411.0
EU2720.827.513.713.8
Slovenia20.826.614.312.3
Poland20.122.617.45.2
Croatia19.824.415.09.4
Lithuania19.826.512.514.0
Romania17.519.315.53.8
Greece17.219.714.65.1
Estonia16.519.013.85.2
Italy16.419.413.36.1
Czech Republic16.119.812.27.6
Sweden15.819.611.77.9
Belgium14.220.77.513.2
Bulgaria14.017.610.27.4
Latvia14.018.79.09.7
Netherlands13.618.68.410.2
Slovakia12.916.69.07.6
Hungary12.316.87.49.4
Malta11.014.86.88.0
Cyprus10.213.57.26.3
Luxembourg3.95.72.03.7
     
United Kingdom26.230.521.68.9
     
EFTA Countries:
Switzerland22.033.110.522.6
Norway16.523.09.713.3
Iceland15.917.614.03.6
Liechtenstein9.07.410.7-3.3
     
EU Candidate Countries:
Serbia16.018.013.84.2
Turkey12.816.49.07.4
Macedonia8.48.68.30.3
Source: Eurostat - Population and Social Conditions
1Sorted by "Total Persons", descending.
  • Ireland had the highest rate of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates in 2019, at 36.9 per 1,000 of persons aged 20-29.
  • Furthermore, Ireland also had the largest gender differential in the EU27 at 25.8, with 49.7 male STEM graduates per 1,000 persons aged 20-29 compared with 23.9 for female STEM graduates.
  • Luxembourg had the lowest rate of STEM graduates in 2019 at 3.9 per 1,000 of persons aged 20-29. Luxembourg also had the lowest gender differential in the EU27 at 3.7, with 5.7 male STEM graduates per 1,000 persons aged 20-29 compared with 2.0 for female STEM graduates.

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