Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland

Ireland: Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes was 1.1% in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
1.1%
Change on year
down 4.7%
World rank
108th
of 188 countries
All-time high
2.5%
in 2003
All-time low
0.9%
in 2015
Years of data
22
1991–2017

Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland, 1991–2017

00.511.522.51991200420171991: 1.9 %1992: 1.7 %1993: 1.7 %1994: 1.7 %1998: 1.5 %1999: 1.5 %2000: 1.2 %2001: 1.1 %2002: 0.95 %2003: 2.5 %2004: 2 %2005: 1.8 %2006: 1.8 %2007: 1.9 %2008: 1.7 %2009: 1.8 %2010: 1.9 %2013: 1 %2014: 1.1 %2015: 0.878 %2016: 1.1 %2017: 1.1 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2017, repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland stood at 1.1%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.7% on the previous year and down 42.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland peaked at 2.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2015.

That places Ireland 108th out of 188 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.

Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes (%) in Ireland, 1991 to 2017.
Year % Change
1991 1.9%
1992 1.7% -12.7%
1993 1.7% +3.9%
1994 1.7% -1.4%
1998 1.5% -12.4%
1999 1.5% +0.3%
2000 1.2% -16.8%
2001 1.1% -8.0%
2002 1.0% -17.0%
2003 2.5% +158.7%
2004 2.0% -17.0%
2005 1.8% -10.5%
2006 1.8% +1.2%
2007 1.9% +2.1%
2008 1.7% -10.2%
2009 1.8% +4.8%
2010 1.9% +6.5%
2013 1.0% -45.3%
2014 1.1% +4.8%
2015 0.9% -19.2%
2016 1.1% +29.0%
2017 1.1% -4.7%

Ireland compared with similar countries

  • Ireland's 1.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9%, 1.2× the median. (67 countries reporting)
  • Ireland's 1.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.6%, 1.9× the median. (50 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2003 +158.7% 1.0% 2.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.7% 1.5% 1.9% 6
2000s 1.7% 1.0% 2.5% 10
2010s 1.2% 0.9% 1.9% 6

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 105 Latvia 1.3% compare
  2. 106 Albania 1.2% compare
  3. 107 Dominican Republic 1.1% compare
  4. 109 Kuwait 1.1% compare
  5. 110 Sao Tome and Principe 1.0% compare
  6. 111 Czechia 1.0% compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More education data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland?
Repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland was 1.1% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2003.
What is the lowest repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2015.
How does Ireland rank for repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes?
Ireland ranks 108th out of 188 countries with data for 2017.
Is repetition rate in grade 1 of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 42.8%. 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 Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/repetition-rate-in-grade-1-of-primary-education-both-sexes-percent/ireland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/repetition-rate-in-grade-1-of-primary-education-both-sexes-percent/ireland/">Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes in Ireland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Repetition rate in Grade 1 of primary education, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
188 places, 4,401 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Number of repeaters in a given grade in a given school year, expressed as a percentage of enrolment in that grade the previous school year. Divide the number of repeaters in a given grade in school year t+1 by the number of pupils from the same cohort enrolled in the same grade in the previous school year t.