School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Ireland
Ireland: School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) was 562,836 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
562,836
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
108th
of 222 countries
All-time high
571,070
in 2020
All-time low
433,711
in 2002
Years of data
24
2001–2024
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ireland, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 562,836 for school age population, primary education, both sexes in 2024.
The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Ireland peaked at 571,070 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 433,711, in 2002.
Ireland ranks 108th of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes (number) in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 434,823 | — |
| 2002 | 433,711 | -0.3% |
| 2003 | 435,771 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 437,449 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 440,502 | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 448,147 | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 460,597 | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 475,158 | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 485,270 | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 490,529 | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 494,750 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 507,473 | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 517,631 | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 528,323 | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 538,477 | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 546,257 | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 556,320 | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 562,061 | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 568,348 | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 571,070 | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 567,600 | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 568,921 | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 568,883 | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 562,836 | -1.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 562,836 is above the median for high income countries, which is 215,283, 2.6× the median. (80 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 562,836 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 432,642, 1.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 450,159 | 433,711 | 485,270 | 9 |
| 2010s | 531,017 | 490,529 | 568,348 | 10 |
| 2020s | 567,862 | 562,836 | 571,070 | 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, primary education, both sexes in Ireland?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ireland was 562,836 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 571,070 in 2020.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 433,711 in 2002.
- How does Ireland rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Ireland ranks 108th out of 222 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. 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, primary 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