Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland

Ireland: Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage was 0.6% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
0.6%
Change on year
down 11.2%
World rank
52nd
of 101 countries
All-time high
1.0%
in 2009
All-time low
0.6%
in 2017
Years of data
20
1998–2017

Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland, 1998–2017

00.250.50.7511998200720171998: 0.756 %1999: 0.709 %2000: 0.665 %2001: 0.657 %2002: 0.68 %2003: 0.722 %2004: 0.808 %2005: 0.795 %2006: 0.785 %2007: 0.829 %2008: 0.982 %2009: 1 %2010: 1 %2011: 0.98 %2012: 0.955 %2013: 0.892 %2014: 0.824 %2015: 0.626 %2016: 0.681 %2017: 0.605 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2017, government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland stood at 0.6%. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.

The figure is down 11.2% on the previous year and down 27.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland peaked at 1.0% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2017.

Ireland ranks 52nd of 101 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage of GDP (%) in Ireland, 1998 to 2017.
Year % Change
1998 0.8%
1999 0.7% -6.2%
2000 0.7% -6.1%
2001 0.7% -1.2%
2002 0.7% +3.4%
2003 0.7% +6.3%
2004 0.8% +11.8%
2005 0.8% -1.6%
2006 0.8% -1.3%
2007 0.8% +5.7%
2008 1.0% +18.4%
2009 1.0% +5.2%
2010 1.0% -1.8%
2011 1.0% -3.3%
2012 1.0% -2.6%
2013 0.9% -6.6%
2014 0.8% -7.6%
2015 0.6% -24.0%
2016 0.7% +8.7%
2017 0.6% -11.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 2
2000s 0.8% 0.7% 1.0% 10
2010s 0.8% 0.6% 1.0% 8

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 49 Iran, Islamic Republic of 0.6% compare
  2. 50 Romania 0.6% compare
  3. 51 Algeria 0.6% compare
  4. 53 Namibia 0.6% compare
  5. 54 Türkiye 0.6% compare
  6. 55 Dominican Republic 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 101 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland?
Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland was 0.6% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 2009.
What is the lowest government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2017.
How does Ireland rank for government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage?
Ireland ranks 52nd out of 101 countries with data for 2017.
Is government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 27.1%. 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, published as part of Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-upper-secondary-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
101 places, 1,193 data points, 1995–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on upper secondary education (current, capital, and transfers), expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Divide total government expenditure for a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by the GDP, and multiply by 100. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/