Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral urban both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral urban both was 2.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent in Ireland, 2011–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in Ireland stood at 2.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.9% on the previous year and up 74.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in Ireland peaked at 2.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2011.
That places Ireland 9th out of 55 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral urban both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.0% | — |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +15.2% |
| 2015 | 1.4% | +19.9% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | -9.3% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | +28.7% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 2.1% | +27.8% |
| 2023 | 2.0% | -5.9% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 2.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 1.8× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 2.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.1%, 1.8× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
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 doctoral or equivalent in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in Ireland was 2.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2011.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent?
- Ireland ranks 9th out of 55 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 74.1%. 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 Doctoral or equivalent education, population 25+ years, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release