Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland

Ireland: Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of was 11.0% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
11.0%
Change on year
down 30.4%
World rank
95th
of 108 countries
All-time high
28.7%
in 2009
All-time low
11.0%
in 2017
Years of data
20
1998–2017

Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland, 1998–2017

01020301998200720171998: 16.91999: 16.42000: 15.92001: 16.62002: 172003: 18.52004: 19.72005: 202006: 21.12007: 22.52008: 26.62009: 28.72010: 27.42011: 27.42012: 25.82013: 23.72014: 21.62015: 16.42016: 15.82017: 11

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

In 2017, initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland stood at 11.0%. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.

The figure is down 30.4% on the previous year and down 51.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland peaked at 28.7% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 11.0%, in 2017.

That places Ireland 95th out of 108 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of GDP per capita in Ireland, 1998 to 2017.
Year Value Change
1998 16.9%
1999 16.4% -2.9%
2000 15.9% -3.2%
2001 16.6% +4.4%
2002 17.0% +2.5%
2003 18.5% +8.7%
2004 19.7% +6.5%
2005 20.0% +1.8%
2006 21.1% +5.5%
2007 22.5% +6.6%
2008 26.6% +18.4%
2009 28.7% +7.7%
2010 27.4% -4.3%
2011 27.4% -0.0%
2012 25.8% -5.8%
2013 23.7% -8.2%
2014 21.6% -8.9%
2015 16.4% -24.0%
2016 15.8% -3.6%
2017 11.0% -30.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 16.7% 16.4% 16.9% 2
2000s 20.6% 15.9% 28.7% 10
2010s 21.2% 11.0% 27.4% 8

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 92 Paraguay 11.9% compare
  2. 93 Niger 11.7% compare
  3. 94 Afghanistan 11.3% compare
  4. 96 Indonesia 10.5% compare
  5. 97 Nepal 10.5% compare
  6. 98 Guyana 9.3% compare

See the full ranking of 108 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland?
Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland was 11.0% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 28.7% in 2009.
What is the lowest initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 11.0% in 2017.
How does Ireland rank for initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of?
Ireland ranks 95th out of 108 countries with data for 2017.
Is initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 51.0%. 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 Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/initial-government-funding-per-secondary-student-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-per-capita/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of GDP per capita
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
108 places, 1,346 data points, 1971–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed as a share of GDP per capita. Limitations: In some instances data on total government expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/