Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both was 10.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in Ireland, 2011–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Ireland stood at 10.0%. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 12.3% on the previous year and up 58.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Ireland peaked at 10.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 2011.
That places Ireland 9th out of 60 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master rural both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6.3% | — |
| 2014 | 6.4% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 6.6% | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 7.1% | +8.0% |
| 2017 | 8.2% | +14.5% |
| 2018 | 7.1% | -13.3% |
| 2019 | 7.2% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 7.8% | +7.4% |
| 2021 | 8.9% | +15.1% |
| 2022 | 10.0% | +12.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 10.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 7.7%, 1.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 10.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 7.9%, 1.3× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 7.0% | 6.3% | 8.2% | 7 |
| 2020s | 8.9% | 7.8% | 10.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 6 Switzerland 12.7% compare
- 7 United Kingdom 11.9% compare
- 8 Sweden 10.7% compare
- 10 Czechia 10.0% compare
- 11 Slovenia 9.7% compare
- 12 United States 9.1% compare
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 master's or equivalent in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Ireland was 10.0% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 10.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 2011.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- Ireland ranks 9th out of 60 countries with data for 2022.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 58.7%. 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 Master's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release