Educational attainment rate, completed … lower non-immigrant male in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed … lower non-immigrant male was 85.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland, 2006–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland stood at 85.7%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 85.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 73.1%, in 2006.
Ireland ranks 33rd of 39 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … lower non-immigrant male in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 73.1% | — |
| 2007 | 74.5% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 75.6% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 76.5% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 78.1% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 79.2% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 79.5% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 80.6% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 80.9% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 81.5% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 81.3% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 85.0% | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 84.7% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 84.6% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 85.7% | +1.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 85.7% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 97.5%, 88% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 85.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 96.4%, 89% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 74.9% | 73.1% | 76.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 81.5% | 78.1% | 85.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.7% | 85.7% | 85.7% | 1 |
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 lower secondary education or in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland was 85.7% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 85.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 73.1% in 2006.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 33rd out of 39 countries with data for 2020.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. 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 lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release