Education · Europe & Central Asia · High income
Ireland: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 95.4% (2020), 33rd of 176 in the world and 18th of 51 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary enrolment is 96.5% (2022), 136th of 191 in the world and 45th of 53 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary completion is 93.7% (2022), 94th of 168 in the world and 40th of 47 in Europe & Central Asia.
Pre-primary enrolment
IrelandEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
IrelandEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
10 indicators
Education: Ireland in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central Asia; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 95.4%2020 | 33/176 | 18/51 | · | 103.6%2012 | 95.4% | −19.8 ppsince 1997 | 78.3% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 96.5%2022 | 136/191 | 45/53 | 102.0%2001 | 103.2% | 99.9% | −5.6 ppsince 2012 | 99.9% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 93.7%2022 | 94/168 | 40/47 | 94.7%2001 | · | 98.1% | −1.2 ppsince 2005 | 98.1% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 130.6%2022 | 9/176 | 6/53 | 105.2%2001 | 118.1% | 133.5% | +12.9 ppsince 2012 | 103.3% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 100.8%2022 | 22/168 | 7/50 | 97.0%2001 | 99.9% | 98.6% | +0.4 ppsince 2011 | 91.9% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 77.6%2022 | 35/172 | 21/52 | 50.7%2001 | 63.1% | 74.2% | +9.4 ppsince 2012 | 84.9% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 1.8%2022 | 114/178 | 20/51 | 0.2%2001 | 0.2% | 0.1% | +1.8 ppsince 2012 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 16.12012 | — | — | 20.32001 | 15.8 | · | −17%since 2002 | 14.9 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 2.9%2021 | 144/184 | 45/49 | 4.1% | 6.0% | 3.2% | −2.9 ppsince 2011 | 4.6% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 12.3%2021 | 98/179 | 17/49 | 13.5% | 9.3% | 12.0% | ±0.0 ppsince 2011 | 11.7% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Secondary enrolment+12.9 pp130.6% in 2022
- Lower secondary completion+0.4 pp100.8% in 2022
- Tertiary enrolment+9.4 pp77.6% in 2022
- Pupils per teacher−17%16.1 in 2012
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−19.8 pp95.4% in 2020
- Primary completion−1.2 pp93.7% in 2022
- Out-of-school children+1.8 pp1.8% in 2022
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Ireland and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Ireland. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 95.4%2020 | 105.8%2020 |
| Primary enrolment | 96.5%2022 | 102.2%2023 |
| Primary completion | 93.7%2022 | 101.1%2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 130.6%2022 | 112.1%2023 |
| Lower secondary completion | 100.8%2022 | 98.0%2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 77.6%2022 | 80.4%2023 |
| Out-of-school children | 1.8%2022 | 0.1%2023 |
| Pupils per teacher | 16.12012 | 15.12017 |
| Education spending | 2.9%2021 | 5.9%2021 |