Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland
Ireland: Official entrance age to lower secondary education was 13 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
13
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 73 countries
All-time high
13
in 1998
All-time low
12
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to lower secondary education in Ireland, 1970–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 13 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 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 12, in 1970.
Ireland ranks 1st of 73 countries on this measure, 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 | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12 | — |
| 1971 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 12 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 13 | +8.3% |
| 1999 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 13 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| 1980s | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.2 | 12 | 13 | 10 |
| 2000s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| 2010s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 |
| 2020s | 13 | 13 | 13 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More education data for Ireland
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -0.9368 % change on previous year (2022)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 35,618 (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 6,544 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 134,541 (2022)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 0.1981 % change on previous year (2022)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 112,690 (2022)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) -2.26 % change on previous year (2022)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
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 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest official entrance age to lower secondary education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 13 in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to lower secondary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 12 in 1970.
- How does Ireland rank for official entrance age to lower secondary education?
- Ireland ranks 1st out of 73 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 UNICEF, published as part of Official entrance age to lower secondary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).