Start month of the academic school year in Ireland
Ireland: Start month of the academic school year was 8 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Start month of the academic school year in Ireland, 1997–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, start month of the academic school year in Ireland stood at 8. That is the lowest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, start month of the academic school year in Ireland peaked at 9 in 1997 and was at its lowest, 8, in 1998.
That places Ireland 140th out of 221 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Start month of the academic school year in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 9 | — |
| 1998 | 8 | -11.1% |
| 1999 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 | +12.5% |
| 2013 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8 | -11.1% |
| 2018 | 9 | +12.5% |
| 2019 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 9 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8 | -11.1% |
| 2024 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 8 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.33 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| 2000s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.5 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 140 Aruba 8 compare
- 140 Switzerland 8 compare
- 140 Denmark 8 compare
- 140 Dominican Republic 8 compare
- 140 Finland 8 compare
- 140 Micronesia, Federated States of 8 compare
- 140 Iceland 8 compare
- 140 Liechtenstein 8 compare
- 140 Luxembourg 8 compare
- 140 Norway 8 compare
- 140 Puerto Rico 8 compare
- 140 Portugal 8 compare
- 140 Suriname 8 compare
- 140 Sweden 8 compare
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 start month of the academic school year in Ireland?
- Start month of the academic school year in Ireland was 8 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest start month of the academic school year recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 9 in 1997.
- What is the lowest start month of the academic school year recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 1998.
- How does Ireland rank for start month of the academic school year?
- Ireland ranks 140th out of 221 countries with data for 2025.
- Is start month of the academic school year rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. 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 Start month of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non-tertiary education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release