Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both was 51.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
51.2%
Change on year
up 7.0%
World rank
5th
of 129 countries
All-time high
51.2%
in 2023
All-time low
14.8%
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 51.2% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.0% on the previous year and up 37.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in Ireland peaked at 51.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 14.8%, in 1992.
Ireland ranks 5th of 129 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 both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 14.8% | — |
| 1993 | 15.8% | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 16.1% | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 17.4% | +8.0% |
| 1996 | 19.7% | +13.8% |
| 1997 | 19.5% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 21.9% | +12.2% |
| 2003 | 23.6% | +7.5% |
| 2004 | 25.0% | +6.1% |
| 2005 | 25.7% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 27.2% | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 29.9% | +9.7% |
| 2008 | 31.2% | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 32.5% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 33.9% | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 31.8% | -6.2% |
| 2012 | 35.8% | +12.6% |
| 2013 | 37.2% | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 38.4% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 39.3% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 39.7% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 36.7% | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 41.4% | +13.0% |
| 2019 | 41.8% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 44.0% | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 46.4% | +5.5% |
| 2022 | 47.9% | +3.2% |
| 2023 | 51.2% | +7.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 51.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 37.8%, 1.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 51.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 35.4%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 17.2% | 14.8% | 19.7% | 6 |
| 2000s | 27.1% | 21.9% | 32.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 37.6% | 31.8% | 41.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.4% | 44.0% | 51.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 2 Uzbekistan 61.5% compare
- 3 United Arab Emirates 55.7% compare
- 4 Singapore 53.2% compare
- 6 United States 49.8% compare
- 7 South Korea 49.6% compare
- 8 Canada 49.3% 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 51.2% 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 51.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.8% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- Ireland ranks 5th out of 129 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 37.8%. 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, both sexes (%). 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