Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female was 54.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
54.3%
Change on year
up 7.4%
World rank
4th
of 128 countries
All-time high
54.3%
in 2023
All-time low
13.7%
in 1992
Years of data
28
1992–2023
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland, 1992–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 54.3% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 7.4% on the previous year and up 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland peaked at 54.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 1992.
Ireland ranks 4th of 128 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 13.7% | — |
| 1993 | 14.6% | +6.2% |
| 1994 | 14.9% | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 16.4% | +10.1% |
| 1996 | 18.8% | +14.5% |
| 1997 | 18.8% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 22.2% | +17.8% |
| 2003 | 23.4% | +5.8% |
| 2004 | 25.2% | +7.3% |
| 2005 | 26.4% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 28.9% | +9.2% |
| 2007 | 31.3% | +8.5% |
| 2008 | 33.0% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 34.4% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 36.2% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 34.5% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 38.2% | +10.9% |
| 2013 | 39.9% | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 41.0% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 42.0% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 42.6% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 39.7% | -6.8% |
| 2018 | 44.2% | +11.4% |
| 2019 | 44.5% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 46.6% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 49.2% | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 50.6% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 54.3% | +7.4% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 54.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 38.7%, 1.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 54.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 37.3%, 1.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.2% | 13.7% | 18.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 28.1% | 22.2% | 34.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 40.3% | 34.5% | 44.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.2% | 46.6% | 54.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 1 Russia 66.3% compare
- 2 United Arab Emirates 59.7% compare
- 3 Uzbekistan 57.9% compare
- 5 Canada 52.9% compare
- 6 United States 52.0% compare
- 7 Ukraine 51.7% 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 54.3% in 2023, 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 54.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Ireland ranks 4th out of 128 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.3%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release