Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland
Ireland: Official entrance age to lower secondary education was 13 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
13 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
5th
of 215 countries
All-time high
13 years
in 1998
All-time low
12 years
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 13 years for official entrance age to lower secondary education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland peaked at 13 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 12 years, in 1970.
That places Ireland 5th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12 years | — |
| 1971 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 12 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1999 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 13 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 13 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 12 years | 12 years | 12 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.2 years | 12 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 13 years | 13 years | 13 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 3 Cook Islands 11 years compare
- 3 Niue 11 years compare
- 3 Saint Helena 11 years compare
- 3 Tokelau 11 years compare
- 5 Afghanistan 13 years compare
- 5 Botswana 13 years compare
- 5 Denmark 13 years compare
- 5 Estonia 13 years compare
- 5 Ethiopia 13 years compare
- 5 Finland 13 years compare
- 5 Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Gambia 13 years compare
- 5 Equatorial Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 Guatemala 13 years compare
- 5 Indonesia 13 years compare
- 5 Iceland 13 years compare
- 5 Lesotho 13 years compare
- 5 Latvia 13 years compare
- 5 Mali 13 years compare
- 5 Mozambique 13 years compare
- 5 Niger 13 years compare
- 5 Norway 13 years compare
- 5 Papua New Guinea 13 years compare
- 5 El Salvador 13 years compare
- 5 Sweden 13 years compare
- 5 Eswatini 13 years compare
- 5 Uganda 13 years compare
- 5 Zimbabwe 13 years compare
More education data for Ireland
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 456,625 (2022)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 1.55 % change on previous year (2022)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,162 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 3.17 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), gaps filled 233,132 (2022)
- Enrolment in secondary education, female (number), annual growth rate 1.56 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 223,493 (2022)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.54 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 102,720 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -6.21 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland?
- Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland was 13 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to lower secondary education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 13 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to lower secondary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 years in 1970.
- How does Ireland rank for official entrance age to lower secondary education?
- Ireland ranks 5th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to lower secondary 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, published as part of Official entrance age to lower secondary education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release