Educational attainment rate … both short-cycle tertiary urban in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate … both short-cycle tertiary urban 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 … both short-cycle tertiary urban 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% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 56.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.2%, 1.4× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 56.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 40.3%, 1.4× the median. (40 countries reporting)
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
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 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