School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes (number) in Ireland
Ireland: School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes (number) was 231,378 in 2024. ▲ Rising
School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes in Ireland, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 231,378 for school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes in 2024. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 27.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes in Ireland peaked at 231,378 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 167,167, in 2008.
That places Ireland 122nd out of 220 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes (number) in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 183,487 | — |
| 2002 | 178,376 | -2.8% |
| 2003 | 174,332 | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 172,369 | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 172,078 | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 171,306 | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 168,354 | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 167,167 | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 167,713 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 170,205 | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 173,789 | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 177,942 | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 180,019 | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 181,516 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 183,134 | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 186,335 | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 190,284 | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 193,128 | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 195,466 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 199,754 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 206,153 | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 215,649 | +4.6% |
| 2023 | 226,569 | +5.1% |
| 2024 | 231,378 | +2.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 231,378 is above the median for high income countries, which is 156,288, 1.5× the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 231,378 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 271,788, 85% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 172,798 | 167,167 | 183,487 | 9 |
| 2010s | 183,182 | 170,205 | 195,466 | 10 |
| 2020s | 215,901 | 199,754 | 231,378 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
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 school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes in Ireland?
- School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes in Ireland was 231,378 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 231,378 in 2024.
- What is the lowest school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 167,167 in 2008.
- How does Ireland rank for school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes?
- Ireland ranks 122nd out of 220 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, lower secondary education, both sexes rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.5%. 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 School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release