School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland

Ireland: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female was 20.23 years in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
20.23 years
Change on year
up 7.7%
World rank
5th
of 175 countries
All-time high
20.23 years
in 2018
All-time low
11 years
in 1971
Years of data
46
1971–2018

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland, 1971–2018

05101520197119942018

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2018, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland stood at 20.23 years. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.

That represents a change of up 7.7% on the previous year and up 16.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland peaked at 20.23 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 11 years, in 1971.

That places Ireland 5th out of 175 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years) in Ireland, 1971 to 2018.
Year years Change
1971 11 years
1972 11 years +0.0%
1973 11.29 years +2.6%
1974 11.34 years +0.4%
1976 11.82 years +4.2%
1977 11.96 years +1.2%
1978 11.98 years +0.2%
1979 11.96 years -0.2%
1980 11.93 years -0.3%
1981 11.91 years -0.1%
1982 12.02 years +0.9%
1983 12.11 years +0.8%
1984 12.02 years -0.8%
1985 12.09 years +0.6%
1986 12.29 years +1.7%
1987 12.42 years +1.0%
1988 12.47 years +0.5%
1989 12.47 years -0.0%
1990 12.52 years +0.4%
1991 12.54 years +0.2%
1992 12.73 years +1.5%
1993 13.13 years +3.1%
1994 13.37 years +1.8%
1995 13.51 years +1.0%
1996 13.64 years +1.0%
1997 13.92 years +2.0%
1998 16.57 years +19.1%
1999 16.76 years +1.2%
2000 16.94 years +1.0%
2001 17.11 years +1.0%
2002 17.4 years +1.7%
2003 17.6 years +1.2%
2004 17.44 years -0.9%
2005 17.49 years +0.3%
2006 17.14 years -2.0%
2007 17.16 years +0.1%
2008 17.4 years +1.4%
2009 17.18 years -1.3%
2010 17.58 years +2.3%
2011 17.94 years +2.0%
2012 17.95 years +0.0%
2014 18.42 years +2.6%
2015 18.83 years +2.2%
2016 18.87 years +0.3%
2017 18.79 years -0.4%
2018 20.23 years +7.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 11.54 years 11 years 11.98 years 8
1980s 12.17 years 11.91 years 12.47 years 10
1990s 13.87 years 12.52 years 16.76 years 10
2000s 17.29 years 16.94 years 17.6 years 10
2010s 18.58 years 17.58 years 20.23 years 8

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 2 Sweden 20.71 years compare
  2. 3 Belgium 20.55 years compare
  3. 4 Finland 20.3 years compare
  4. 6 Iceland 20.21 years compare
  5. 7 New Zealand 19.88 years compare
  6. 8 Greece 19.46 years compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More gender data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland?
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland was 20.23 years in 2018, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 20.23 years in 2018.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 11 years in 1971.
How does Ireland rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female?
Ireland ranks 5th out of 175 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.3%. 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 School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-female-years/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, female (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
220 places, 6,052 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.