Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both was 41.9% 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 41.9%. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.9% on the previous year and up 34.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in Ireland peaked at 41.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 26.8%, in 2011.
That places Ireland 2nd out of 112 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 30.8% | — |
| 2007 | 33.8% | +9.9% |
| 2010 | 33.1% | -2.0% |
| 2011 | 26.8% | -19.0% |
| 2014 | 31.1% | +15.7% |
| 2015 | 31.2% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 31.8% | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 31.2% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 35.2% | +12.8% |
| 2019 | 35.5% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 37.2% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 38.5% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 38.4% | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 41.9% | +8.9% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 41.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.7%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 41.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 26.4%, 1.6× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 32.3% | 30.8% | 33.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 32.0% | 26.8% | 35.5% | 8 |
| 2020s | 39.0% | 37.2% | 41.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 1 United Arab Emirates 52.7% compare
- 3 Luxembourg 41.9% compare
- 4 Switzerland 41.6% compare
- 5 Lithuania 41.3% 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 41.9% 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 41.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.8% in 2011.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- Ireland ranks 2nd 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 34.7%. 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, both sexes (%). 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