Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 31.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
31.7%
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
8th
of 41 countries
All-time high
31.7%
in 2020
All-time low
22.7%
in 2014
Years of data
7
2014–2020
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland, 2014–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland stood at 31.7%. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 39.4% over ten years.
That places Ireland 8th out of 41 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 26.2% | 22.7% | 30.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 31.7% | 31.7% | 31.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More education data for Ireland
- 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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 96.48 (2022)
- School enrollment, primary 96.5% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland was 31.7% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 31.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.7% in 2014.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Ireland ranks 8th out of 41 countries with data for 2020.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release