Public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland

Ireland: Public sector employment, as a share of total employment was 0.2933 in 2020. ▬ Flat

Latest (2020)
0.2933
Change on year
up 4.0%
World rank
9th
of 79 countries
All-time high
0.2933
in 2020
All-time low
0.2485
in 2018
Years of data
17
2004–2020

Public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland, 2004–2020

00.10.20.32004201220202004: 0.2612005: 0.2552006: 0.2732007: 0.2872008: 0.272009: 0.2662010: 0.2682011: 0.2812012: 0.2672013: 0.2752014: 0.2732015: 0.2612016: 0.2662017: 0.2672018: 0.2492019: 0.2822020: 0.293

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 0.2933 for public sector employment, as a share of total employment in 2020. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.0% on the previous year and up 9.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland peaked at 0.2933 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.2485, in 2018.

Ireland ranks 9th of 79 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland, 2004 to 2020.
Year Value Change
2004 0.2612
2005 0.2548 -2.4%
2006 0.2729 +7.1%
2007 0.2869 +5.1%
2008 0.2701 -5.9%
2009 0.2663 -1.4%
2010 0.2678 +0.6%
2011 0.2814 +5.1%
2012 0.2673 -5.0%
2013 0.2755 +3.1%
2014 0.2729 -0.9%
2015 0.2615 -4.2%
2016 0.2658 +1.7%
2017 0.2671 +0.5%
2018 0.2485 -6.9%
2019 0.2821 +13.5%
2020 0.2933 +4.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.2687 0.2548 0.2869 6
2010s 0.269 0.2485 0.2821 10
2020s 0.2933 0.2933 0.2933 1

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 6 Luxembourg 0.3154 compare
  2. 7 Republic of Moldova 0.3029 compare
  3. 8 Iceland 0.2991 compare
  4. 10 France 0.2894 compare
  5. 11 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.2887 compare
  6. 12 Malta 0.286 compare

See the full ranking of 79 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland?
Public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland was 0.2933 in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest public sector employment, as a share of total employment recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 0.2933 in 2020.
What is the lowest public sector employment, as a share of total employment recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2485 in 2018.
How does Ireland rank for public sector employment, as a share of total employment?
Ireland ranks 9th out of 79 countries with data for 2020.
Is public sector employment, as a share of total employment rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Public sector employment, as a share of total employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public sector employment, as a share of total employment in Ireland. Statizoid. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-as-a-share-of-total-employment-2/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment, as a share of total employment
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
79 places, 1,004 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed