Universities and Higher Education
The higher education system in Ireland consists of the university sector, institutes of technology and private independent colleges.
Despite a moderate island population of roughly 5 million, there are a number of excellent higher learning institutions in the Republic of Ireland. Ireland is a small island nation, located on the western-most tip of Europe. 34 higher education institutions in Ireland offer an extensive range of over 5000 programs leading to internationally recognized, quality assured qualifications. International students can choose to meet their educational needs in highly respected business schools, centers of scientific and technology excellence as well as renowned language, humanities and arts faculties. Irish education is among the best in the world, topping the global ranks for quality of education systems. Irish universities are in the top 1% of research institutions in the world, in terms of research impact in 19 fields, spanning natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The quality of life in the country is ranked 4th by the UN Human Development Index.