Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 99.8% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland, 2006–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland is 99.8%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland peaked at 99.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 99.3%, in 2009.
That places Ireland 14th out of 38 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 99.4% | — |
| 2007 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 99.3% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 99.4% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 99.7% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 99.4% | 99.3% | 99.5% | 4 |
| 2010s | 99.5% | 99.4% | 99.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.8% | 1 |
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 primary education or higher in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland was 99.8% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 99.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 99.3% in 2009.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Ireland ranks 14th out of 38 countries with data for 2020.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release