Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland
Ireland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 23.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland, 1998–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland stood at 23.6%.
That represents a change of down 9.1% on the previous year and up 56.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland peaked at 30.8% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 15.1%, in 2012.
Ireland ranks 79th of 122 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27.4% | — |
| 1999 | 27.2% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 27.9% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 27.4% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 27.7% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 28.1% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 30.8% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 24.1% | -21.9% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 15.1% | -33.4% |
| 2013 | 20.2% | +33.7% |
| 2014 | 22.8% | +13.3% |
| 2015 | 22.7% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | +5.1% |
| 2018 | 24.9% | +4.6% |
| 2019 | 23.9% | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 24.9% | +4.0% |
| 2021 | 25.9% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 23.6% | -9.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.3% | 27.2% | 27.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 27.7% | 24.1% | 30.8% | 6 |
| 2010s | 22.0% | 15.1% | 24.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 24.8% | 23.6% | 25.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More education data for Ireland
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1053 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland was 23.6% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 30.8% in 2004.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.1% in 2012.
- How does Ireland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Ireland ranks 79th out of 122 countries with data for 2022.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Business, Administration and Law programmes, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release