School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes in Ireland
Ireland: School age population, lower secondary education, both sexes 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 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% |
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
- 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 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