Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland

Ireland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 5.7% in 2016. ▲ Rising

Latest (2016)
5.7%
Change on year
down 28.3%
World rank
76th
of 98 countries
All-time high
10.8%
in 2009
All-time low
5.7%
in 2016
Years of data
14
1998–2016

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland, 1998–2016

02.557.5101998200720161998: 5.8 %1999: 5.8 %2000: 6.1 %2001: 6.5 %2002: 7.1 %2003: 7.1 %2004: 6.2 %2009: 10.8 %2010: 8.8 %2012: 8.8 %2013: 8 %2014: 6.6 %2015: 7.9 %2016: 5.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 5.7% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2016. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.

The figure is down 28.3% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland peaked at 10.8% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 5.7%, in 2016.

That places Ireland 76th out of 98 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%) in Ireland, 1998 to 2016.
Year % Change
1998 5.8%
1999 5.8% -1.1%
2000 6.1% +6.7%
2001 6.5% +5.4%
2002 7.1% +10.4%
2003 7.1% -1.4%
2004 6.2% -11.5%
2009 10.8% +72.5%
2010 8.8% -17.9%
2012 8.8% -0.1%
2013 8.0% -9.7%
2014 6.6% -17.2%
2015 7.9% +20.1%
2016 5.7% -28.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 5.8% 5.8% 5.8% 2
2000s 7.3% 6.1% 10.8% 6
2010s 7.6% 5.7% 8.8% 6

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 73 Malta 6.4% compare
  2. 74 Malaysia 6.3% compare
  3. 75 Lithuania 5.9% compare
  4. 77 Croatia 5.6% compare
  5. 78 Canada 5.6% compare
  6. 79 Denmark 5.2% compare

See the full ranking of 98 places →

More education data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

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 5.7% in 2016, 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 10.8% in 2009.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 5.7% in 2016.
How does Ireland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
Ireland ranks 76th out of 98 countries with data for 2016.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. 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 Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-education-programmes-both/ireland/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-education-programmes-both/ireland/">Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
98 places, 1,156 data points, 1998–2020
Last refreshed

Share of all tertiary graduates who completed education programmes in the reference year.