School age population, primary education, both sexes in Ireland
Ireland: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 562,836 in 2024. ▲ Rising
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 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% |
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
- 105 Azerbaijan 587,924 compare
- 106 Czechia 587,903 compare
- 107 Palestine, State of 574,936 compare
- 109 Greece 557,140 compare
- 110 Switzerland 550,277 compare
- 111 Portugal 538,035 compare
More education data for Ireland
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 42,162 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
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