Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 99.7% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Ireland, 2006–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 99.7% for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2020.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and 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 2019 and was at its lowest, 99.3%, in 2009.
Ireland ranks 18th of 40 countries on this measure, 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 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 99.3% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 99.3% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 99.3% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 99.6% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.8% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 99.7% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 99.4% | 99.3% | 99.4% | 4 |
| 2010s | 99.5% | 99.3% | 99.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.7% | 99.7% | 99.7% | 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 99.7% 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 2019.
- 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 18th out of 40 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, male (%). 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