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

Ireland: Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in was 64.3% in 2018. ▼ Falling

Latest (2018)
64.3%
Change on year
down 28.3%
World rank
129th
of 179 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1998
All-time low
64.1%
in 2010
Years of data
20
1998–2018

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

0204060801001998200820181998: 100 %1999: 100 %2000: 100 %2001: 100 %2002: 100 %2003: 100 %2004: 65.4 %2005: 67.3 %2006: 67.7 %2007: 67.5 %2008: 67.3 %2009: 66.1 %2010: 64.1 %2011: 68.4 %2012: 68.1 %2014: 100 %2015: 100 %2016: 100 %2017: 89.7 %2018: 64.3 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 64.3% for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in 2018.

The figure is down 28.3% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in Ireland peaked at 100.0% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 64.1%, in 2010.

Ireland ranks 129th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Share of all students in upper 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 65.4% -34.6%
2005 67.3% +2.8%
2006 67.7% +0.6%
2007 67.5% -0.2%
2008 67.3% -0.3%
2009 66.1% -1.9%
2010 64.1% -3.0%
2011 68.4% +6.6%
2012 68.1% -0.4%
2014 100.0% +46.9%
2015 100.0% +0.0%
2016 100.0% +0.0%
2017 89.7% -10.3%
2018 64.3% -28.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
2000s 80.1% 65.4% 100.0% 10
2010s 81.8% 64.1% 100.0% 8

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 126 Kyrgyzstan 65.5% compare
  2. 127 Mexico 65.4% compare
  3. 128 Sweden 64.6% compare
  4. 130 Spain 64.2% compare
  5. 131 Rwanda 63.2% compare
  6. 132 Mali 62.9% compare

See the full ranking of 224 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in Ireland?
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in Ireland was 64.3% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest share of all students in upper 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 upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 64.1% in 2010.
How does Ireland rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
Ireland ranks 129th out of 179 countries with data for 2018.
Is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. 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 upper secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-all-students-in-upper-secondary-education-enrolled-in-general-programmes-percent/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in general programmes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
224 places, 3,926 data points, 1997–2020
Last refreshed

Total number of students enrolled in general programmes at the upper secondary education level, expressed as a percentage of the total number of students enrolled in all programmes (vocational and general) at the upper 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.