Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland

Ireland: Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in was 83.2% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
83.2%
Change on year
down 16.8%
World rank
185th
of 191 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1998
All-time low
83.2%
in 2018
Years of data
21
1998–2018

Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland, 1998–2018

0204060801001998200820181998: 100 %1999: 100 %2000: 100 %2001: 100 %2002: 100 %2003: 100 %2004: 100 %2005: 97.7 %2006: 96.6 %2007: 97 %2008: 97 %2009: 97 %2010: 95.7 %2011: 96.3 %2012: 96.4 %2013: 100 %2014: 100 %2015: 100 %2016: 100 %2017: 100 %2018: 83.2 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 83.2% for share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of down 16.8% on the previous year and down 14.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland peaked at 100.0% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 83.2%, in 2018.

That places Ireland 185th out of 191 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.

Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%) in Ireland, 1998 to 2018.
Year % Change
1998 100.0%
1999 100.0% +0.0%
2000 100.0% +0.0%
2001 100.0% +0.0%
2002 100.0% +0.0%
2003 100.0% +0.0%
2004 100.0% +0.0%
2005 97.7% -2.3%
2006 96.6% -1.1%
2007 97.0% +0.4%
2008 97.0% -0.0%
2009 97.0% -0.0%
2010 95.7% -1.3%
2011 96.3% +0.5%
2012 96.4% +0.1%
2013 100.0% +3.8%
2014 100.0% +0.0%
2015 100.0% +0.0%
2016 100.0% +0.0%
2017 100.0% +0.0%
2018 83.2% -16.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
2000s 98.5% 96.6% 100.0% 10
2010s 96.8% 83.2% 100.0% 9

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 182 Paraguay 89.0% compare
  2. 183 Honduras 85.9% compare
  3. 184 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 84.6% compare
  4. 186 Costa Rica 80.8% compare
  5. 187 Belgium 80.5% compare
  6. 188 Uruguay 79.5% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland?
Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland was 83.2% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1998.
What is the lowest share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 83.2% in 2018.
How does Ireland rank for share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in?
Ireland ranks 185th out of 191 countries with data for 2018.
Is share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-all-students-in-lower-secondary-education-enrolled-in-general-programmes-percent/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of all students in lower secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
236 places, 4,344 data points, 1997–2020
Last refreshed

Total number of students enrolled in general programmes at the lower secondary education level, expressed as a percentage of the total number of students enrolled in all programmes (vocational and general) at the lower secondary level. General education is designed to develop learners’ general knowledge, skills and competencies and literacy and numeracy skills, often to prepare students for more advanced educational programmes at the same or higher ISCED levels and to lay the foundation for lifelong learning. General educational programmes are typically school- or college-based. General education includes educational programmes that are designed to prepare students for entry into vocational education, but that do not prepare for employment in a particular occupation or trade or class of occupations or trades, nor lead directly to a labour market relevant qualification.