Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Ireland
Ireland: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 83.0% 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 83.0%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.3% on the previous year and up 19.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Ireland peaked at 83.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 37.1%, in 1992.
That places Ireland 24th out of 142 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 … upper both in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 41.7% | — |
| 1992 | 37.1% | -10.9% |
| 1993 | 39.1% | +5.2% |
| 1994 | 39.7% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 41.7% | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 44.4% | +6.4% |
| 1997 | 43.7% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 55.0% | +25.7% |
| 2004 | 56.3% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 66.2% | +17.6% |
| 2007 | 66.5% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 62.9% | -5.4% |
| 2009 | 64.1% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 66.6% | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 66.4% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 67.8% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 69.4% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 73.2% | +5.4% |
| 2015 | 73.4% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 73.6% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 70.8% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 75.3% | +6.4% |
| 2019 | 75.9% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 77.6% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 79.7% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 80.3% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 83.0% | +3.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 83.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.5%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 83.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81.4%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | +25.7% | 43.7% | 55.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 41.1% | 37.1% | 44.4% | 7 |
| 2000s | 61.8% | 55.0% | 66.5% | 6 |
| 2010s | 71.2% | 66.4% | 75.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.1% | 77.6% | 83.0% | 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 83.0% 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 83.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.1% in 1992.
- How does Ireland rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Ireland ranks 24th out of 142 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 19.6%. 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, both sexes (%). 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