Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male was 45.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland, 1992–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 45.1% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2022. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 35.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland peaked at 45.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15.9%, in 1992.
That places Ireland 11th out of 129 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 15.9% | — |
| 1993 | 17.0% | +7.3% |
| 1994 | 17.3% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 18.4% | +6.0% |
| 1996 | 20.8% | +13.0% |
| 1997 | 20.3% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 21.7% | +6.8% |
| 2003 | 23.7% | +9.4% |
| 2004 | 24.9% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 25.0% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 25.5% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 28.4% | +11.2% |
| 2008 | 29.3% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 30.5% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 31.5% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 29.0% | -8.1% |
| 2012 | 33.3% | +14.7% |
| 2013 | 34.4% | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 35.7% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 36.4% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 36.6% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 33.5% | -8.6% |
| 2018 | 38.5% | +15.0% |
| 2019 | 38.9% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 41.2% | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 43.5% | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 45.1% | +3.5% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 45.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 34.0%, 1.3× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 45.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 31.5%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.3% | 15.9% | 20.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 26.1% | 21.7% | 30.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 34.8% | 29.0% | 38.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.3% | 41.2% | 45.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 8 Luxembourg 46.8% compare
- 9 Switzerland 46.1% compare
- 10 Canada 45.4% compare
- 12 Saudi Arabia 44.6% compare
- 13 Australia 43.8% compare
- 14 Ukraine 42.9% 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 short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland was 45.1% in 2022, 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 45.1% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.9% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Ireland ranks 11th out of 129 countries with data for 2022.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.6%. 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 (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release