Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland
Ireland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 17.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising
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 17.4%. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.6% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland peaked at 17.4% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 7.1%, in 1998.
That places Ireland 34th out of 123 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7.1% | — |
| 1999 | 8.7% | +22.1% |
| 2000 | 8.2% | -6.0% |
| 2001 | 9.4% | +14.3% |
| 2002 | 10.7% | +14.3% |
| 2003 | 12.4% | +16.0% |
| 2004 | 13.0% | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 13.8% | +6.3% |
| 2010 | 16.3% | +18.2% |
| 2012 | 16.3% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 14.1% | -13.4% |
| 2014 | 15.1% | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 16.5% | +9.4% |
| 2016 | 17.1% | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 16.8% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 16.5% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 15.7% | -5.2% |
| 2021 | 16.5% | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 17.4% | +5.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.9% | 7.1% | 8.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 11.2% | 8.2% | 13.8% | 6 |
| 2010s | 16.1% | 14.1% | 17.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 16.5% | 15.7% | 17.4% | 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 17.4% 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 17.4% in 2022.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.1% in 1998.
- How does Ireland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Ireland ranks 34th out of 123 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 6.9%. 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 Health and Welfare programmes, both sexes (%). 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