Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master both was 16.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's or equivalent in Ireland, 2011–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Ireland is 16.0%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.0% on the previous year and up 72.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Ireland peaked at 16.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2011.
Ireland ranks 13th of 82 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Master's … Master both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9.2% | — |
| 2014 | 9.2% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 9.5% | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 10.2% | +6.9% |
| 2017 | 11.4% | +11.4% |
| 2018 | 10.9% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 11.0% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 11.9% | +7.5% |
| 2021 | 13.3% | +12.4% |
| 2022 | 14.5% | +9.0% |
| 2023 | 16.0% | +10.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 16.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 13.7%, 1.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 16.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 14.6%, 1.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 10.2% | 9.2% | 11.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 13.9% | 11.9% | 16.0% | 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 master's or equivalent in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent in Ireland was 16.0% in 2023, 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 16.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2011.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent?
- Ireland ranks 13th out of 82 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed master's or equivalent rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.8%. 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 Master's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release