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Measuring Ireland's Progress 2015

Education

4.1 Ireland: Real current public expenditure on education, 2005-2014
 
 € per student at 2013 prices€m at 2013 prices
 LevelReal current public expenditure
YearPrimarySecond1Third
20055,8378,17610,5797,059
20066,0408,53611,1007,421
20076,1828,99111,0167,742
20086,2969,11210,8857,978
20096,5379,21110,3338,257
20106,4268,9179,9148,207
20116,3898,8199,1808,119
20126,2078,6458,4357,922
20136,2598,2328,1077,850
20146,0558,1837,6737,761
Source: Department of Education and Skills, CSO
1 Second level includes further education, e.g. Post Leaving Certificate programmes.
  • Real expenditure per student, (i.e., expenditure adjusted for inflation), increased by 3.7% at primary level between 2005 and 2014, rising from €5,837 per student in 2005 to €6,055 by 2014.
  • Real expenditure per student at second level rose from €8,176 in 2005 to €9,211 in 2009 before dropping to €8,183 in 2014, close to the level in 2005.
  • At third level there was a decrease of 27.5% in real expenditure per student over the same time period, falling from €10,579 per student in 2005 to €7,673 by 2014.
  • In 2014 expenditure per student at third level was below the amount spent on each student at second level.
  • Current public expenditure on education in real prices rose by nearly a tenth (9.9%) between 2005 and 2014, from €7,059 million to €7,761 million.
PrimarySecondThird
20055837817610579
20066040853611100
20076182899111016
20086296911210885
20096537921110333
2010642689179914
2011638988199180
2012620786458435
2013625982328107
2014605581837673
4.2 Ireland: Numbers of full-time students1 by level, 2007-2016
 
number
 Level
YearPrimarySecondThird
2006/2007471,519334,111138,362
2007/2008486,444335,123139,134
2008/2009498,914341,312146,068
2009/2010505,998350,687156,973
2010/2011509,652356,107161,647
2011/2012516,458359,047163,068
2012/2013526,422362,847164,863
2013/2014536,317367,178169,254
2014/2015544,696372,296173,649
2015/2016553,380378,003176,632
Source: Department of Education and Skills
1 Only students in institutions which are aided by the Department of Education and Skills are included in this table.
  • The number of primary level students increased by 17.4% between 2006/2007 and 2015/2016, rising from 471,519 to 553,380.
  • Over this same time period the number of second level students rose by 13.1%, from 334,111 to 378,003.
  • The number of third level students increased strongly by more than a quarter (27.7%) over this time period, from 138,362 to 176,632.
PrimarySecondThird
2007471519334111138362
2008486444335123139134
2009498914341312146068
2010505998350687156973
2011509652356107161647
2012516458359047163068
2013526422362847164863
2014536317367178169254
2015544696372296173649
2016553380378003176632
4.3 EU: Public expenditure on education, 2012-2013
 
% of GDP
Country20122013
Sweden7.47.4
Finland7.17.2
Cyprus6.77.1
Malta6.86.9
Ireland (% of GNI)7.56.9
Belgium6.66.7
Netherlands5.96.1
Ireland (% of GDP)6.25.8
Austria5.65.7
EU 285.25.3
Portugal:5.3
Slovenia5.45.2
Poland4.95.0
Estonia4.84.9
Germany4.84.8
Lithuania4.84.7
Italy4.24.3
Bulgaria3.74.3
Spain4.34.2
Czech Republic4.34.2
Hungary4.14.1
Slovakia3.14.1
Latvia:3.4
Romania2.62.7
Denmark::
France5.7:
Croatia::
Luxembourg::
United Kingdom6.1:
   
Norway:6.6
Switzerland5.25.2
Source: Eurostat
  • Public expenditure on education in Ireland was 5.8% of GDP in 2013, above the EU average of 5.3% and the seventh highest in the EU.
  • Ireland had the fifth highest expenditure on education in the EU in 2013 when calculated as a percentage of GNI.
4.4 EU: Ratio of students to teachers1, 2014
 
ratio
CountryPrimaryLower secondaryUpper secondary
Luxembourg8.910.98.9
Greece9.47.8:
Lithuania10.27.48.1
Poland11.010.410.9
Latvia11.27.610.0
Malta11.47.08.8
Hungary11.510.912.5
Denmark11.911.013.1
Austria12.08.810.0
Italy12.411.612.5
Belgium12.79.29.9
Sweden12.712.213.8
Estonia12.99.914.6
Finland13.38.916.2
Spain13.511.811.3
Cyprus13.69.810.0
Portugal14.010.18.9
Croatia14.39.310.3
EU 2815.012.212.4
Germany15.413.413.1
Slovenia15.98.313.7
Ireland16.4:13.9
Netherlands16.616.2:
Slovakia17.212.513.5
Bulgaria17.813.012.2
Czech Republic18.711.911.7
Romania18.812.615.1
France19.315.410.1
United Kingdom19.615.016.3
    
Norway10.39.710.3
Iceland10.410.5:
Switzerland13.810.8:
Macedonia15.49.112.7
Serbia16.110.78.9
Turkey19.318.414.8
Source: Eurostat
1 2013 data used for EU28, Ireland, France and Iceland.
  • Ireland had a student to teacher ratio of 16.4 in primary education in 2013. This was the eighth highest ratio in the EU and was above the EU average of 15 for 2014.
  • The lowest student to teacher ratio in primary education in 2014 was in Luxembourg at 8.9 while the highest was in the United Kingdom at 19.6.
  • Ireland had the fifth highest student to teacher ratio for upper secondary education at 13.9 in 2013, for those EU countries for which data was available.
  • The lowest ratio in upper secondary education was in Lithuania at 8.1 while the highest was in the United Kingdom at 16.3.
4.5 EU: Persons aged 25-34 with third level education by sex, 2015
 
% of population aged 25-34
CountryPersonsMalesFemalesPercentage points differential
Lithuania54.945.165.0-19.9
Cyprus54.844.065.1-21.1
Ireland48.642.754.0-11.3
United Kingdom45.942.449.4-7.0
Luxembourg47.441.853.1-11.3
Netherlands44.339.848.8-9.0
Sweden46.739.154.7-15.6
France43.438.947.7-8.8
Belgium42.836.749.0-12.3
Austria38.535.741.4-5.7
Denmark43.235.251.4-16.2
Greece40.234.446.1-11.7
Spain40.033.946.1-12.2
Finland40.232.148.8-16.7
EU 2837.032.142.1-10.0
Poland39.531.348.1-16.8
Slovenia40.731.051.3-20.3
Estonia40.530.850.9-20.1
Germany29.428.330.5-2.2
Malta30.626.635.0-8.5
Latvia39.125.453.5-28.2
Hungary31.425.337.7-12.3
Portugal32.524.939.8-14.9
Bulgaria31.624.339.4-15.1
Czech Republic30.824.137.9-13.8
Slovakia31.323.539.6-16.1
Croatia30.623.438.0-14.6
Romania25.523.028.3-5.3
Italy25.019.230.8-11.6
     
Norway49.541.358.0-16.6
Switzerland48.346.649.9-3.3
Iceland36.929.045.2-16.2
Macedonia30.624.237.3-13.1
Turkey26.026.725.21.5
Source: Eurostat LFS
  • Just under half (48.6%) of 25-34 year olds in Ireland had third level education in 2015. This was the third highest rate in the EU and compares with 37% across the EU as a whole.
  • In Lithuania and Cyprus about 55% of the population aged 25-34 had a third level qualification in 2015.
  • More females than males aged 25-34 had third level education in all EU countries with Latvia having the highest percentage points differential of 28.2.
  • In Ireland 54% of females aged 25-34 had a third level qualification, compared to 42.7% of males.
  • The proportion of the population aged 25-34 in Ireland with third level education has risen steadily in recent years, from 41.1% in 2006 to 48.6% in 2015, an increase of 7.5 percentage points. Over the same time period, the proportion with third level education in the EU rose from 28.7% to 37%, an increase of 8.3 percentage points.
EU28Ireland
200628.671337061704141.0668376847305
200729.464669919427442.322537383134
200830.51251398033442.8279369529319
200931.896922019895745.0859418525473
201032.524205223507945.5669664916565
201133.478720618335245.0293923654593
201234.546219467469546.925812973861
201335.460157142061848.5200138069625
201436.420303361076847.6306914118622
201537.047319811007648.6239790849042
4.6 EU: Student performance on the mathematical, reading and scientific literacy scales, 2015
 
Mean score of 15 year old students
CountryMathematical literacyReading literacyScientific literacy
Estonia520519534
Netherlands512503509
Denmark511500502
Finland511526531
Slovenia510505513
Belgium507499502
Germany506509509
Poland504506501
Ireland504521503
Austria497485495
Sweden494500493
France493499495
United Kingdom492498509
Czech Republic492487493
Portugal492498501
OECD average490493493
Italy490485481
Spain486496493
Luxembourg486481483
Latvia482488490
Malta479447465
Lithuania478472475
Hungary477470477
Slovak Republic475453461
Croatia464487475
Greece454467455
Romania444434435
Bulgaria441432446
Cyprus437443433
    
Switzerland521492506
Norway502513498
Iceland488482473
Turkey420428425
Source: OECD, Educational Research Centre
  • Ireland had the ninth highest mathematical literacy for 15 year old students among EU countries in 2015, with a score of 504, above the OECD average of 490. The highest scores in the EU were in Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark.
  • In reading literacy, Ireland had the second highest score in 2015 among EU countries with a score of 521 and was well above the OECD average of 493. The highest score in the EU was in Finland at 526.
  • Ireland ranked seventh highest for scientific literacy with a score of 503, compared to OECD average of 493. Estonia, Finland and Slovenia had the highest scores in the EU.
4.7 EU: Early school leavers, 20151
 
% of population aged 18-24
CountryPersonsMalesFemales
Croatia2.83.62.1
Slovenia5.06.43.4
Cyprus5.37.73.2
Poland5.37.23.2
Lithuania5.56.94.0
Czech Republic6.26.46.0
Ireland6.98.45.4
Slovakia6.96.96.8
Sweden7.07.66.4
Austria7.37.86.8
Denmark7.89.75.7
Greece7.99.46.4
Netherlands8.29.96.4
Finland9.210.67.9
France9.310.18.5
Luxembourg9.310.58.1
Latvia9.913.46.2
Belgium10.111.68.6
Germany10.110.49.8
United Kingdom10.811.79.8
EU 2811.012.49.5
Estonia11.213.29.0
Hungary11.612.011.2
Bulgaria13.413.313.4
Portugal13.716.411.0
Italy14.717.511.8
Romania19.119.518.5
Malta19.822.916.6
Spain20.024.015.8
    
Switzerland5.15.35.0
Norway10.212.48.0
Macedonia11.410.012.9
Iceland18.824.912.4
Turkey36.435.037.6
Source: Eurostat LFS
1Persons aged 18-24 with, at most, lower secondary education and not in further education or training.
  • Just under 7% of those aged 18-24 in Ireland had left school with, at most, lower secondary education in 2015.
  • The EU average for early school leavers was 11% and varied from a low of 2.8% in Croatia to a high of 20% in Spain.
  • In 2015 more males than females had left school early in Ireland, with a rate of 8.4% for males and 5.4% for females.
  • Males are more likely than females to leave school early in all EU countries with the exception of Bulgaria.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
4.8 EU: Mathematics, Science and Technology graduates, 2014
 
per 1,000 population aged 20-29
CountryMalesFemalesTotal
Ireland37.012.924.7
France32.614.123.4
United Kingdom28.117.422.8
Austria33.011.622.5
Finland31.312.121.9
Denmark26.015.120.7
Spain29.212.120.7
Portugal24.516.320.4
Slovenia25.712.419.3
Poland21.816.319.1
EU2824.512.718.7
Gemany26.710.418.7
Lithuania25.310.718.2
Slovakia20.812.616.8
Czech Republic21.811.116.6
Greece20.012.416.2
Romania18.313.616.0
Croatia19.711.415.7
Malta21.58.615.3
Sweden19.010.014.6
Belgium20.47.313.9
Bulgaria16.710.613.7
Italy16.011.113.6
Estonia16.010.813.5
Latvia16.78.112.5
Hungary15.66.711.3
Netherlands14.65.09.9
Cyprus11.37.19.2
Luxembourg5.02.03.5
    
Switzerland28.77.818.4
Serbia17.711.914.9
Norway20.16.913.6
Macedonia9.67.08.3
Source: Eurostat
  • Ireland had the highest proportion of mathematics, science and technology (STEM) graduates in the EU in 2014.
  • The proportion of graduates in these disciplines was 24.7 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29 in Ireland.
  • The proportion of male graduates in STEM areas in Ireland, at 37 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29, was the highest in the EU. However the proportion of female graduates in Ireland, at 12.9, was the seventh highest in the EU.
  • The proportion of male graduates in STEM subjects in Ireland fell from 34.3 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29 in 2005 to 23 in 2009 before increasing to stand at 37 in 2014.
  • The proportion of female graduates fell from 15.2 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29 in 2005 to 10 in 2009 and then rose to 12.6 in 2012. The proportion of female graduates fell again in 2013 to 10 before increasing in 2014 to 12.9.

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