Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education was 55.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland, 1993–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland is 55.1%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.6% on the previous year and up 33.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland peaked at 55.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 23.5%, in 1993.
Ireland ranks 4th of 102 countries on this measure, 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 | 23.5% | — |
| 1994 | 24.1% | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 25.2% | +4.3% |
| 1996 | 29.1% | +15.6% |
| 1997 | 26.6% | -8.6% |
| 2002 | 30.3% | +14.0% |
| 2003 | 32.6% | +7.4% |
| 2004 | 33.9% | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 33.7% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 34.0% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 38.3% | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 39.4% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 39.4% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 40.3% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 34.1% | -15.2% |
| 2012 | 40.7% | +19.3% |
| 2013 | 41.1% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 43.1% | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 44.0% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 44.7% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 38.8% | -13.3% |
| 2018 | 45.6% | +17.7% |
| 2019 | 46.7% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 49.0% | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 51.6% | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 51.7% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 55.1% | +6.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.7% | 23.5% | 29.1% | 5 |
| 2000s | 35.2% | 30.3% | 39.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 41.9% | 34.1% | 46.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.9% | 49.0% | 55.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
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 55.1% 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 55.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.5% in 1993.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Ireland ranks 4th out of 102 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 33.9%. 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, 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