Compulsory education, duration in Ireland
Ireland: Compulsory education, duration was 10 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Compulsory education, duration in Ireland, 1998–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Ireland stood at 10 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Ireland peaked at 10 years in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8 years, in 1998.
That places Ireland 81st out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8 years | 8 years | 8 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 81 Algeria 10 years compare
- 81 Andorra 10 years compare
- 81 Angola 10 years compare
- 81 Burkina Faso 10 years compare
- 81 Cape Verde 10 years compare
- 81 Canada 10 years compare
- 81 Central African Republic 10 years compare
- 81 Chad 10 years compare
- 81 Congo 10 years compare
- 81 Cote d'Ivoire 10 years compare
- 81 Cyprus 10 years compare
- 81 Czechia 10 years compare
- 81 Denmark 10 years compare
- 81 Djibouti 10 years compare
- 81 Gabon 10 years compare
- 81 Greece 10 years compare
- 81 Iceland 10 years compare
- 81 Jordan 10 years compare
- 81 Kyrgyzstan 10 years compare
- 81 Lebanon 10 years compare
- 81 Macao 10 years compare
- 81 Moldova 10 years compare
- 81 New Zealand 10 years compare
- 81 Norway 10 years compare
- 81 Oman 10 years compare
- 81 Romania 10 years compare
- 81 San Marino 10 years compare
- 81 Spain 10 years compare
- 81 Saint Lucia 10 years compare
- 81 Sweden 10 years compare
- 81 Togo 10 years compare
- 81 Vietnam 10 years compare
- 81 Palestine 10 years compare
More education data for Ireland
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.1% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 96.5% (2022)
- Primary education, teachers 42,162 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary, female 97.6% (2022)
- School enrollment, primary, male 95.5% (2022)
- Labor force, total 2.91 million (2025)
- Labor force, female 46.9% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in Ireland?
- Compulsory education, duration in Ireland was 10 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 10 years in 2000.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 years in 1998.
- How does Ireland rank for compulsory education, duration?
- Ireland ranks 81st out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.