Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary was 54.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Ireland, 1992–2023
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 54.3% for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.4% on the previous year and up 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Ireland peaked at 54.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 1992.
Ireland ranks 4th of 128 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Ireland, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 13.7% | — |
| 1993 | 14.6% | +6.2% |
| 1994 | 14.9% | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 16.4% | +10.1% |
| 1996 | 18.8% | +14.5% |
| 1997 | 18.8% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 22.2% | +17.8% |
| 2003 | 23.4% | +5.8% |
| 2004 | 25.2% | +7.3% |
| 2005 | 26.4% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 28.9% | +9.2% |
| 2007 | 31.3% | +8.5% |
| 2008 | 33.0% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 34.4% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 36.2% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 34.5% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 38.2% | +10.9% |
| 2013 | 39.9% | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 41.0% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 42.0% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 42.6% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 39.7% | -6.8% |
| 2018 | 44.2% | +11.4% |
| 2019 | 44.5% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 46.6% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 49.2% | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 50.6% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 54.3% | +7.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.2% | 13.7% | 18.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 28.1% | 22.2% | 34.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 40.3% | 34.5% | 44.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.2% | 46.6% | 54.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 1 Russian Federation 66.3% compare
- 2 United Arab Emirates 59.7% compare
- 3 Uzbekistan 57.9% compare
- 5 Canada 52.9% compare
- 6 United States of America 52.0% compare
- 7 Ukraine 51.7% compare
More education data for Ireland
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 42,162 (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Ireland?
- Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Ireland was 54.3% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 54.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary?
- Ireland ranks 4th out of 128 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.3%. 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 Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed short-cycle tertiary education.