Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Ireland
Ireland: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 83.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Ireland, 2012–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 83.1% for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in 2022.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 41.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Ireland peaked at 88.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 58.8%, in 2012.
That places Ireland 53rd out of 178 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 58.8% | — |
| 2013 | 59.5% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 59.7% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 60.5% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 64.5% | +6.6% |
| 2017 | 82.4% | +27.6% |
| 2018 | 87.1% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 88.0% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 87.4% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 82.8% | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 83.1% | +0.4% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 83.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 87.1%, 95% of the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 83.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 87.9%, 95% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 70.1% | 58.8% | 88.0% | 8 |
| 2020s | 84.5% | 82.8% | 87.4% | 3 |
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 share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Ireland?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Ireland was 83.1% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 88.0% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 58.8% in 2012.
- How does Ireland rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Ireland ranks 53rd out of 178 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.4%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.