Canada vs Ireland: Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher
Canada
68.8%
in 2024
Ireland
63.3%
in 2023
Canada rank
2nd
Ireland rank
3rd
Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher over time
- Canada
- Ireland
How they compare
Canada currently reports 68.8% against 63.3% in Ireland, a difference of 5.5%.
That makes Canada's figure about 1.1 times Ireland's.
Across all 12 years both countries report, Canada has been ahead every year.
Canada ranks 2nd and Ireland ranks 3rd of 110 countries.
Canada has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | Ireland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 35.3% | 7.9% | 27.4% | Canada |
| 1990s | 36.5% | 13.6% | 22.9% | Canada |
| 2000s | 55.8% | 42.1% | 13.7% | Canada |
| 2010s | 60.0% | 44.3% | 15.8% | Canada |
| 2020s | 67.7% | 62.5% | 5.2% | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population with post-secondary education or higher, Canada or Ireland?
- Canada, at 68.8% against 63.3% in Ireland as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of the population with post-secondary education or higher between Canada and Ireland?
- 5.5%, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Ireland?
- 12 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2023.
- How do Canada and Ireland rank globally for share of the population with post-secondary education or higher?
- Canada ranks 2nd and Ireland ranks 3rd of 110 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with post-secondary education or higher. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of adults aged 25 and older who have completed post-secondary or tertiary education.