Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ireland
Ireland: Official entrance age to upper secondary education was 16 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
16
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
2nd
of 73 countries
All-time high
16
in 1998
All-time low
15
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ireland, 1970–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 16 for official entrance age to upper 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 upper secondary education in Ireland peaked at 16 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 15, in 1970.
Ireland ranks 2nd 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 upper secondary education in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 15 | — |
| 1971 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 15 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 16 | +6.7% |
| 1999 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 16 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 1980s | 15 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.2 | 15 | 16 | 10 |
| 2000s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 10 |
| 2020s | 16 | 16 | 16 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 1 Lithuania 17 compare
- 2 Moldova 16 compare
- 2 Sweden 16 compare
- 2 Andorra 16 compare
- 2 Germany 16 compare
- 2 Turkmenistan 16 compare
- 2 Estonia 16 compare
- 2 Jordan 16 compare
- 2 Oman 16 compare
- 2 Denmark 16 compare
- 2 Finland 16 compare
- 2 Latvia 16 compare
- 2 Kyrgyzstan 16 compare
- 2 Tajikistan 16 compare
- 2 Norway 16 compare
- 2 Uzbekistan 16 compare
- 2 Iceland 16 compare
- 2 Liechtenstein 16 compare
- 2 Russia 16 compare
More education data for Ireland
- 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)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ireland?
- Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Ireland was 16 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest official entrance age to upper secondary education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 16 in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to upper secondary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 15 in 1970.
- How does Ireland rank for official entrance age to upper secondary education?
- Ireland ranks 2nd out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to upper 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 upper 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).