Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 85.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland, 1991–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland stood at 85.1%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 85.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 39.2%, in 1992.
Ireland ranks 20th of 141 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 42.8% | — |
| 1992 | 39.2% | -8.3% |
| 1993 | 41.4% | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 42.0% | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 44.1% | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 46.5% | +5.5% |
| 1997 | 46.1% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 56.5% | +22.6% |
| 2006 | 69.4% | +23.0% |
| 2007 | 66.7% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 65.1% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 66.3% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 68.3% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 68.8% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 69.9% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 71.6% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 75.2% | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 75.3% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 75.8% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 73.3% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 77.8% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 78.1% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 79.6% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 82.1% | +3.0% |
| 2022 | 82.0% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 85.1% | +3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 43.1% | 39.2% | 46.5% | 7 |
| 2000s | 64.8% | 56.5% | 69.4% | 5 |
| 2010s | 73.4% | 68.3% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.2% | 79.6% | 85.1% | 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 upper secondary education or in Ireland?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland was 85.1% 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 85.1% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.2% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 20th out of 141 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 18.8%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release