Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 85.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland, 1993–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland stood at 85.7%. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is up 3.8% on the previous year and up 17.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 85.7% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 46.4%, in 1993.
Ireland ranks 26th of 108 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 46.4% | — |
| 1994 | 47.1% | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 48.1% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 51.7% | +7.3% |
| 1997 | 49.6% | -4.0% |
| 2002 | 60.8% | +22.7% |
| 2003 | 62.9% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 63.4% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 64.6% | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 65.5% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 66.2% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 69.6% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 69.5% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 71.4% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 69.2% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 71.9% | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 72.9% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 77.2% | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 77.3% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 77.3% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 72.7% | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 77.9% | +7.1% |
| 2019 | 79.4% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 80.5% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 82.4% | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 82.6% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 85.7% | +3.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 48.6% | 46.4% | 51.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 65.3% | 60.8% | 69.6% | 8 |
| 2010s | 74.7% | 69.2% | 79.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.8% | 80.5% | 85.7% | 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 85.7% 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 85.7% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.4% in 1993.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 26th out of 108 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 17.5%. 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, 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