Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male was 80.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland, 1991–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland is 80.8%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 20.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 80.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 34.9%, in 1992.
Ireland ranks 38th of 140 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 40.5% | — |
| 1992 | 34.9% | -13.8% |
| 1993 | 36.7% | +5.0% |
| 1994 | 37.3% | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 39.2% | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 42.1% | +7.4% |
| 1997 | 41.3% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 51.8% | +25.5% |
| 2003 | 53.4% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 54.3% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 56.0% | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 63.0% | +12.5% |
| 2007 | 66.2% | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 60.6% | -8.4% |
| 2009 | 61.9% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 64.8% | +4.7% |
| 2011 | 63.9% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 65.5% | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 67.1% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 71.0% | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 71.5% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 71.4% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 68.1% | -4.6% |
| 2018 | 72.6% | +6.7% |
| 2019 | 73.6% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 75.4% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 77.1% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 78.5% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 80.8% | +2.9% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 80.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.7%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 80.8% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.6%, 99% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper male in Ireland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +25.5% | 41.3% | 51.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 38.9% | 34.9% | 42.1% | 7 |
| 2000s | 58.4% | 51.8% | 66.2% | 8 |
| 2010s | 68.9% | 63.9% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.0% | 75.4% | 80.8% | 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 upper secondary education or in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland was 80.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 80.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.9% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 38th out of 140 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.4%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release