Educational attainment rate, completed lower … lower urban both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed lower … lower urban both was 94.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland, 2006–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland is 94.0%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 94.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 79.2%, in 2006.
Ireland ranks 30th of 97 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower … lower urban both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 79.2% | — |
| 2007 | 81.9% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 82.2% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 82.7% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 84.4% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 85.1% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 85.7% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 86.3% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 89.0% | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 89.3% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 89.3% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 87.4% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 89.8% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 90.0% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 90.6% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 92.4% | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 91.9% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 94.0% | +2.2% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 94.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 94.0%, 1.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 94.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 96.8%, 97% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 81.5% | 79.2% | 82.7% | 4 |
| 2010s | 87.6% | 84.4% | 90.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.2% | 90.6% | 94.0% | 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 94.0% 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 94.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.2% in 2006.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 30th out of 97 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 8.8%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release