Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 78.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland, 1993–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 78.8% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2023. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 20.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 78.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 35.1%, in 1993.
That places Ireland 23rd out of 113 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 35.1% | — |
| 1994 | 35.7% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 38.1% | +6.7% |
| 1996 | 40.6% | +6.5% |
| 1997 | 40.6% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 51.6% | +27.2% |
| 2004 | 53.3% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 55.0% | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 56.7% | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 59.5% | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 59.8% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 61.7% | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 63.5% | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 61.3% | -3.5% |
| 2012 | 63.0% | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 65.2% | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 67.9% | +4.1% |
| 2015 | 69.0% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 69.1% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 66.4% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 70.4% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 71.3% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 73.8% | +3.5% |
| 2021 | 75.3% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 77.5% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 78.8% | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 38.0% | 35.1% | 40.6% | 5 |
| 2000s | 56.8% | 51.6% | 61.7% | 7 |
| 2010s | 66.7% | 61.3% | 71.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.4% | 73.8% | 78.8% | 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 78.8% 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 78.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.1% in 1993.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 23rd out of 113 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 20.8%. 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, rural, both sexes (%). 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