Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Ireland

Ireland: Share of children who are not in pre-primary school was 5.0% in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
5.0%
Change on year
up 25.8%
Rank
124th
of 179 regions
All-time high
5.0%
in 2022
All-time low
0.0%
in 2017
Years of data
12
2011–2022

Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Ireland, 2011–2022

0123452011201620222011: 0.166 %2012: 2.2 %2013: 1.6 %2014: 2.5 %2015: 3.5 %2016: 2.1 %2017: 0.002 %2018: 1 %2019: 0.295 %2020: 1.8 %2021: 4 %2022: 5 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Ireland is 5.0%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 25.8% on the previous year and up 125.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Ireland peaked at 5.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2017.

That places Ireland 124th out of 179 regions with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 1.5% 0.0% 3.5% 9
2020s 3.6% 1.8% 5.0% 3

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 121 Australia 5.1% compare
  2. 122 Tuvalu 5.1% compare
  3. 123 Hungary 5.0% compare
  4. 125 Antigua and Barbuda 4.9% compare
  5. 126 Singapore 4.8% compare
  6. 127 Italy 4.8% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More education data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Ireland?
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school in Ireland was 5.0% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 5.0% in 2022.
What is the lowest share of children who are not in pre-primary school recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2017.
How does Ireland rank for share of children who are not in pre-primary school?
Ireland ranks 124th out of 179 regions with data for 2022.
Is share of children who are not in pre-primary school rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 125.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are not in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children who are not in pre-primary school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 2,923 data points, 1998–2025
Last refreshed

Children one year before the official primary entry age (typically age 5) not enrolled in pre-primary education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.