Duration of compulsory education in Ireland
Ireland: Duration of compulsory education was 10 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
10 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
86th
of 205 countries
All-time high
10 years
in 2000
All-time low
8 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in Ireland, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in Ireland is 10 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in Ireland peaked at 10 years in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8 years, in 1998.
That places Ireland 86th out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 Ireland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 8 years | — |
| 1999 | 8 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 10 years | +25.0% |
| 2001 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 10 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 10 years | +0.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 10 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 11 years, 91% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 10 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10 years, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8 years | 8 years | 8 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 86 Algeria 10 years compare
- 86 Andorra 10 years compare
- 86 Angola 10 years compare
- 86 Burkina Faso 10 years compare
- 86 Canada 10 years compare
- 86 Cape Verde 10 years compare
- 86 Central African Republic 10 years compare
- 86 Chad 10 years compare
- 86 Congo 10 years compare
- 86 Cote d'Ivoire 10 years compare
- 86 Cyprus 10 years compare
- 86 Czechia 10 years compare
- 86 Denmark 10 years compare
- 86 Djibouti 10 years compare
- 86 Gabon 10 years compare
- 86 Greece 10 years compare
- 86 Iceland 10 years compare
- 86 Jordan 10 years compare
- 86 Kyrgyzstan 10 years compare
- 86 Lebanon 10 years compare
- 86 Macao 10 years compare
- 86 Moldova 10 years compare
- 86 New Zealand 10 years compare
- 86 Norway 10 years compare
- 86 Oman 10 years compare
- 86 Palestine 10 years compare
- 86 Romania 10 years compare
- 86 Saint Lucia 10 years compare
- 86 San Marino 10 years compare
- 86 Spain 10 years compare
- 86 Sweden 10 years compare
- 86 Togo 10 years compare
- 86 Vietnam 10 years compare
More education data for Ireland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 32,531 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,942 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,745 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 49,975 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 456,625 (2022)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 548,873 (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.49 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1053 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Ireland?
- Duration of compulsory education in Ireland was 10 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 10 years in 2000.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 years in 1998.
- How does Ireland rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Ireland ranks 86th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education 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 UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Duration of compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of years of compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.