Political situation

Northern Ireland (NI) Assembly elections took place on 2 March 2017, less than a year after the previous elections. The resignation of the Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, on 9 January 2017 led to the collapse of the power-sharing executive and set in train a sequence of statutory provisions leading to the early election.

The election results in March 2017 were as follows:

Source: NI Assembly

Despite intensive discussions in the weeks following the election, the Northern Ireland parties were unable to reach agreement on the formation of a new Executive. The (then) UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland gave a statement on the situation on 28 March 2017. However, in January 2020, the NI Assembly re-opened and members elected Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader, Arlene Foster, as first minister.

Economic situation

Fiscal forecasts and budget

Responsibility for fiscal policy, macro-economic policy and public expenditure allocation for the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (UK) lies with HM Treasury. UK forecasts and budgets are therefore also relevant in Northern Ireland; see the parallel article for England for information.

Northern Ireland Executive budget

The October 2018 UK budget announced an increase of £320 million (€359.85 million*) for the Northern Ireland Executive through to 2020/21. This was supplemented by an additional £210m (€236.15 million*) in the Chancellors 2020 Budget. This budget is for spending in devolved areas including education, health and transport.

*Exchange rate used: €1 = £0.89 =, ECB, 24 November 2020.

GDP Expenditure on education

HM Treasury public spending statistics for July 2020 show that GDP expenditure on education in the UK stood at 4.2% in 2019/20 compared to 4.0% in 1997/98 (Trends in public spending, Table 4.4).These changes reflect a mix of demographics and the policy priorities of successive governments. A separate figure for education spending as a percentage of GDP in Northern Ireland is not available.

Educational attainment level of the adult population

Percentage of working age adults (aged 16-64) in Northern Ireland with: 

Source: Department for the Economy, Labour Force Survey Tables for Local Government Districts (2019).

Article last reviewed April 2021.