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Press Statement for International Children’s Day November 2025

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Press Statement

International Children’s Day November 2025

CSO press statement, 20 November 2025, 11:00 AM

CSO Children and Young Persons Hub Provides a Snapshot of the Lives of Young People in Ireland

As of 2025, the estimated number of people under the age of 18 in Ireland was 1.23 million, with a further 467,000 people estimated to be aged between 18 and 24 years.
In 2024, 14,602 female students and 9,045 male students sat the Leaving Certificate Irish exam at higher level, while 1,677 female and 7,839 male students sat the Leaving Certificate Construction Studies exam at higher level.
The at risk of poverty rate for young people aged 0 – 17 years was 15.3% in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 this figure has ranged from 14.3% to 16.0%.
In 2024, more than one in five (22.1%) young people aged 18 – 24 years reported using cannabis in the past 12 months.
The number of learner permit driving licenses for those aged 17 – 20 years was 86,916 in 2024 while the number of full driving licenses was 62,513.
Over the 20 years from 2002 to 2022, there was a substantial decrease of 30.5% in the number of children who reported drinking soft drinks that contain sugar at least once a day.
In 2022, more than half (51.3%) of 15-year-old girls and more than two-thirds (67.7%) of 15-year-old boys reported eating breakfast on five or more days per week.

Children and Young Persons Hub

Children and Young Persons Hub

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (20 November 2025) published an update to the Children and Young Persons Hub to commemorate World Children’s Day (See Editor’s Note). The Hub was first launched in February 2025 and serves as a single source for key information on children and young people using the latest data from the CSO and other public service bodies.

Statistician's Comment

Commenting on the Children and Young Persons Hub, Dianne Hillery, Statistician in the Growing Up in Ireland Division of the CSO, said: “On 20 November each year, the United Nations celebrates World Children’s Day. The day aims to promote and improve children’s welfare.

The CSO’s Children and Young Persons Hub includes indicators related to young people across a wide range of topics. Recent updates have also brought in data from the Growing Up in Ireland survey which looks at the issues facing children and young people in Ireland.

The latest data shows the estimated number of people under the age of 18 in Ireland was 1.23 million as of 2025. We can see differences in the choices and behaviours of young people, such as the subjects they study in school and the activities they take part in. In both of the years examined, 2023 and 2024, more female students than male students sat the Leaving Certificate Irish exam at higher level (14,602 female students and 9,045 male students in 2024). In the same period, more male students than female students sat the Leaving Certificate Construction Studies exam at higher level (7,839 male students and 1,677 female students in 2024).

New and updated data will continue to be added to the Hub going forward. The CSO welcome comments and suggestions from users on this platform which can be sent to cyphub@cso.ie.

In addition, a range of child poverty and well-being indicators, to support the new Child Poverty Target set by the Government in September, are currently being collated by the Child Poverty and Wellbeing Programme Office in the Department of Taoiseach. Data relevant to these will be made available through the Hub in the coming months."

Editor's Note

The Children and Young Persons Hub was launched by the CSO in February 2025. The Hub provides users with easy access to the most up-to-date statistics on a range of key themes related to children and young people as they are published on our open data portal. The Hub uses our open data portal, data.cso.ie, or PxStat, which allows users to search for data relevant to them, download it, and create visuals in a way that suits them best. The structure of the Hub allows the flexibility to add new data as it becomes available, to include new topics, and to have more regular updates.

According to the United Nations, World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.

Highlights from the Children and Young Persons Hub

Population

Ireland’s birth rate declined over the 10-year period for which data is most recently available, from 14.6 in 2014 to 10.3 in 2023 (a reduction of 4.3 births per 1,000 population).

Education

The percentage of young people aged 20 – 24 years with at least a higher secondary level education rose from 88% in Quarter 2 2008 to 97% in Quarter 2 2024.
The number of multi-denominational primary and secondary schools increased from 352 in 2020 to 367 in 2024.

General Health

The self-perceived health status was good or very good for 92.4% of children aged 2 – 17 years in 2024.
In 2024, 16.9% of all children aged 2 – 17 years and 40.7% of young people aged 18 – 24 years wore glasses or contact lenses.
In 2022, when looking at children aged from 10 – 17 years, children aged 11 years were reported to be the most physically active. Nearly 70% of children aged 11 years reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes per day more than 4 days per week.

Mental Health

The percentage of Growing Up in Ireland respondents aged 25 years in 2023 who reported being diagnosed with depression or anxiety grew from 18.3% in 2018 when they were aged 20, to 25.0%.
In 2023, 69.3% of 15 – 19-year-olds and 63.1% of 20 – 24-year-olds reported never or hardly ever feeling lonely.

Activities

In 2022, the most common volunteering activity young people were involved in was sport, with over 15,000 children aged 0 – 14 years involved.
In 2022 for children in childcare, the most common type of childcare for children ages 3 – 4 years was creche/Montessori/playgroup/after school (67.5%), followed by an unpaid relative (12.6%). For children ages 9 – 14 years, the most common type was an unpaid relative (44.1%).
The percentage of young people aged 16 – 29 years, who conducted online learning activities, increased substantially from 2022 to 2024. In 2024, 74% of young people aged 16 – 29 years were using online learning materials and 60% were communicating online with educators/instructors, compared with 39% and 18% in 2022.

Relationships

In 2022, 88.3% of children aged 11 years said they found it easy to talk to their mother if something was bothering them compared with 81.8% of children aged 17 years.
In 2022, 81.0% of children aged 11 years said they found it easy to talk to their father if something was bothering them compared with 66.1% of children aged 17 years.
More than 80% of children aged 10 – 17 years reported having three or more friends of the same gender in 2022.

Society

In 2024, 30% of young adults aged 18 – 24 years experienced discrimination; 79% of them took no action.
In 2023, 37% of those aged 18 – 29 years reported trusting their local government while 31% reported trusting the National Government.

Deprivation and Poverty

In 2025, 43.4% of those aged 15 – 19 years and 26.7% of those aged 20 – 24 years had medical or GP visit cards.
In 2024, 29.0% of households with one adult and children under 18 years had gone into debt within the last 12 months to meet ordinary living expenses.
The average overall life satisfaction score for young people aged 16 – 24 years was 7.8 out of 10 in both 2023 and 2024. This is somewhat higher than the previous three years, where it ranged from 7.3 to 7.6.

Contacts

Email	cyphub@cso.ie
Email	pressoffice@cso.ie

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