Duration of compulsory education in Ireland
Ireland: Duration of compulsory education was 10 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
10
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
86th
of 205 countries
All-time high
10
in 2000
All-time low
8
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in Ireland, 1998–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in Ireland is 10, 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 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8, 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 | 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% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 10 is below the median for high income countries, which is 11, 91% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 10 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 10, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
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
- 86 Algeria 10 compare
- 86 Andorra 10 compare
- 86 Angola 10 compare
- 86 Burkina Faso 10 compare
- 86 Canada 10 compare
- 86 Cape Verde 10 compare
- 86 Central African Republic 10 compare
- 86 Chad 10 compare
- 86 Congo 10 compare
- 86 Cote d'Ivoire 10 compare
- 86 Cyprus 10 compare
- 86 Czechia 10 compare
- 86 Denmark 10 compare
- 86 Djibouti 10 compare
- 86 Gabon 10 compare
- 86 Greece 10 compare
- 86 Iceland 10 compare
- 86 Jordan 10 compare
- 86 Kyrgyzstan 10 compare
- 86 Lebanon 10 compare
- 86 Macao 10 compare
- 86 Moldova 10 compare
- 86 New Zealand 10 compare
- 86 Norway 10 compare
- 86 Oman 10 compare
- 86 Palestine 10 compare
- 86 Romania 10 compare
- 86 Saint Lucia 10 compare
- 86 San Marino 10 compare
- 86 Spain 10 compare
- 86 Sweden 10 compare
- 86 Togo 10 compare
- 86 Vietnam 10 compare
More education data for Ireland
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.47 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.19 (2022)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Ireland?
- Duration of compulsory education in Ireland was 10 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 10 in 2000.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 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 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).