Educational attainment rate … tertiary short-cycle location in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate … tertiary short-cycle location was 0.6431 LPIA in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
0.6431 LPIA
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
20th
of 91 countries
All-time high
0.6723 LPIA
in 2010
All-time low
0.5565 LPIA
in 1996
Years of data
25
1993–2021
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland, 1993–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland is 0.6431 LPIA, measured in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland peaked at 0.6723 LPIA in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.5565 LPIA, in 1996.
Ireland ranks 20th of 91 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … tertiary short-cycle location in Ireland, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 0.5718 LPIA | — |
| 1994 | 0.5626 LPIA | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 0.5782 LPIA | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 0.5565 LPIA | -3.8% |
| 1997 | 0.6335 LPIA | +13.8% |
| 2002 | 0.5628 LPIA | -11.2% |
| 2003 | 0.5844 LPIA | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 0.5907 LPIA | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 0.6014 LPIA | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 0.6227 LPIA | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 0.6068 LPIA | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 0.6116 LPIA | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.6566 LPIA | +7.4% |
| 2010 | 0.6723 LPIA | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 0.6161 LPIA | -8.4% |
| 2012 | 0.6011 LPIA | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 0.6315 LPIA | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 0.608 LPIA | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 0.6176 LPIA | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 0.6001 LPIA | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 0.6478 LPIA | +7.9% |
| 2018 | 0.6307 LPIA | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 0.6129 LPIA | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 0.6354 LPIA | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 0.6431 LPIA | +1.2% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 0.6431 LPIA is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.592 LPIA, 1.1× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 0.6431 LPIA is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.5464 LPIA, 1.2× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5805 LPIA | 0.5565 LPIA | 0.6335 LPIA | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.6046 LPIA | 0.5628 LPIA | 0.6566 LPIA | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.6238 LPIA | 0.6001 LPIA | 0.6723 LPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6392 LPIA | 0.6354 LPIA | 0.6431 LPIA | 2 |
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 short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland was 0.6431 LPIA in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6723 LPIA in 2010.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5565 LPIA in 1996.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Ireland ranks 20th out of 91 countries with data for 2021.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, male, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release