Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Ireland
Ireland: Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public was 0.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Ireland, 2012–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 0.9% for percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in 2022.
The figure is up 11.1% on the previous year and down 52.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Ireland peaked at 1.9% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2020.
Ireland ranks 181st of 183 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.9% | — |
| 2013 | 1.7% | -9.0% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | -13.6% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | -17.7% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | -20.9% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | -6.4% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | -14.0% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | +11.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 0.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 69.4%, 1% of the median. (73 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 0.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 86.0%, 1% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 178 British Virgin Islands 1.9% compare
- 179 Hong Kong 1.6% compare
- 180 New Zealand 1.0% compare
- 182 Bahrain 0.6%
- 183 Guinea 0.3% 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 percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Ireland?
- Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public in Ireland was 0.9% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2012.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2020.
- How does Ireland rank for percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public?
- Ireland ranks 181st out of 183 countries with data for 2022.
- Is percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of enrolment in pre-primary education in public institutions, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release