Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 56.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland, 1993–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 56.1% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2023. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.7% on the previous year and up 34.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland peaked at 56.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 20.2%, in 1993.
That places Ireland 5th out of 101 countries with data for 2023, 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 education in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 20.2% | — |
| 1994 | 20.5% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 22.4% | +9.0% |
| 1996 | 25.6% | +14.6% |
| 1997 | 23.8% | -6.9% |
| 2002 | 28.3% | +18.7% |
| 2003 | 30.4% | +7.3% |
| 2004 | 31.8% | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 32.5% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 33.5% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 37.2% | +11.0% |
| 2008 | 38.6% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 38.8% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 39.7% | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 35.4% | -10.7% |
| 2012 | 40.9% | +15.4% |
| 2013 | 41.6% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 44.0% | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 44.6% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 45.5% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 40.2% | -11.7% |
| 2018 | 46.6% | +16.0% |
| 2019 | 47.2% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 49.2% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 52.5% | +6.7% |
| 2022 | 52.6% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 56.1% | +6.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 22.5% | 20.2% | 25.6% | 5 |
| 2000s | 33.9% | 28.3% | 38.8% | 8 |
| 2010s | 42.6% | 35.4% | 47.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.6% | 49.2% | 56.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 2 Uzbekistan 66.1% compare
- 3 Ukraine 57.0% compare
- 4 Republic of Moldova 56.4% compare
- 6 Australia 53.4% compare
- 7 Republic of Korea 52.9% compare
- 8 Armenia 52.4% compare
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 short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland was 56.1% 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 56.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.2% in 1993.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Ireland ranks 5th out of 101 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 34.7%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). 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