Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male was 39.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland, 2006–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland stood at 39.3%. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.7% on the previous year and up 33.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland peaked at 39.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 24.5%, in 2011.
Ireland ranks 5th of 112 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 28.3% | — |
| 2007 | 33.6% | +18.5% |
| 2010 | 30.9% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 24.5% | -20.7% |
| 2014 | 29.4% | +20.0% |
| 2015 | 29.4% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 29.6% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 28.5% | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 33.2% | +16.3% |
| 2019 | 33.8% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 35.4% | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 37.1% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 36.9% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 39.3% | +6.7% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 39.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 26.4%, 1.5× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 39.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 24.0%, 1.6× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.0% | 28.3% | 33.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 29.9% | 24.5% | 33.8% | 8 |
| 2020s | 37.2% | 35.4% | 39.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 2 Switzerland 46.1% compare
- 3 Luxembourg 43.1% compare
- 4 South Korea 41.6% compare
- 6 United Kingdom 38.2% compare
- 7 Singapore 38.2% compare
- 8 United States 37.6% compare
More education data for Ireland
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 99.47 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 98.19 (2022)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 32,531 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,942 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,745 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 49,975 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 456,625 (2022)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 548,873 (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.49 % change on previous year (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 39.3% in 2023, 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 39.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.5% in 2011.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Ireland ranks 5th out of 112 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.9%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release