Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower female in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower female was 93.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland stood at 93.1%. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 93.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 34.2%, in 1971.
That places Ireland 30th out of 132 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower female in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 34.2% | — |
| 1981 | 49.7% | +45.4% |
| 1991 | 63.2% | +27.1% |
| 2006 | 85.5% | +35.3% |
| 2007 | 81.7% | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 80.0% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 80.8% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 81.6% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 84.5% | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 83.7% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 85.0% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 87.5% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 87.7% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 88.1% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 87.2% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 88.9% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 89.2% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 90.1% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 91.0% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 91.4% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 93.1% | +1.8% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 93.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 91.6%, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 93.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 94.5%, 99% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower female in Ireland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +45.4% | 34.2% | 49.7% |
| 2006 | +35.3% | 63.2% | 85.5% |
| 1991 | +27.1% | 49.7% | 63.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 34.2% | 34.2% | 34.2% | 1 |
| 1980s | 49.7% | 49.7% | 49.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 63.2% | 63.2% | 63.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 82.0% | 80.0% | 85.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 86.3% | 81.6% | 89.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 91.4% | 90.1% | 93.1% | 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 lower secondary education or in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland was 93.1% 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 93.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.2% in 1971.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 30th 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 9.5%. 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, female (%). 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