Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 91.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 91.8% for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in 2023. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 91.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 29.9%, in 1971.
That places Ireland 38th out of 132 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 29.9% | — |
| 1981 | 45.5% | +52.3% |
| 1991 | 59.7% | +31.1% |
| 2006 | 82.3% | +37.9% |
| 2007 | 82.0% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 78.2% | -4.7% |
| 2009 | 79.0% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 80.5% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 82.4% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 81.9% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 83.0% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 86.3% | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 86.5% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 86.6% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 85.0% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 87.5% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 87.4% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 88.4% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 90.3% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 90.3% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 91.8% | +1.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29.9% | 29.9% | 29.9% | 1 |
| 1980s | 45.5% | 45.5% | 45.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 59.7% | 59.7% | 59.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 80.4% | 78.2% | 82.3% | 4 |
| 2010s | 84.7% | 80.5% | 87.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.2% | 88.4% | 91.8% | 4 |
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 lower secondary education or in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland was 91.8% in 2023, 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 91.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.9% in 1971.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 38th out of 132 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.7%. 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 lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release