Duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland
Ireland: Duration of compulsory education in years was 10 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland, 1998–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland is 10, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland peaked at 10 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8, in 1998.
Ireland ranks 30th of 73 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 8 | — |
| 1999 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 10 | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 10 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 10 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| 2000s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 2020s | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 30 Cyprus 10 compare
- 30 Greece 10 compare
- 30 Lebanon 10 compare
- 30 Oman 10 compare
- 30 Jordan 10 compare
- 30 Denmark 10 compare
- 30 Czechia 10 compare
- 30 Romania 10 compare
- 30 Norway 10 compare
- 30 Palestine, State of 10 compare
- 30 Kyrgyzstan 10 compare
- 30 Iceland 10 compare
- 30 San Marino 10 compare
- 30 Djibouti 10 compare
- 30 Spain 10 compare
- 30 Republic of Moldova 10 compare
- 30 Andorra 10 compare
- 30 Sweden 10 compare
- 30 Algeria 10 compare
More education data for Ireland
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 42,162 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 96.48 (2022)
- School enrollment, primary 96.5% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland?
- Duration of compulsory education in years in Ireland was 10 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education in years recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 10 in 2000.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education in years recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 1998.
- How does Ireland rank for duration of compulsory education in years?
- Ireland ranks 30th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education in years rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Duration of compulsory education in years. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).