Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland
Ireland: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 3.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland, 1998–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland is 3.5%, measured in 2022.
The figure is down 35.6% on the previous year and down 11.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Ireland peaked at 6.0% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 2.6%, in 2004.
That places Ireland 61st out of 124 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 | 4.5% | — |
| 1999 | 3.3% | -26.6% |
| 2000 | 2.9% | -11.9% |
| 2001 | 6.0% | +104.5% |
| 2002 | 3.9% | -35.9% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -27.5% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | -5.2% |
| 2009 | 4.3% | +63.3% |
| 2010 | 5.1% | +18.0% |
| 2012 | 3.9% | -22.7% |
| 2013 | 5.6% | +43.1% |
| 2014 | 5.3% | -6.8% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | -10.6% |
| 2016 | 5.1% | +8.0% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | -19.8% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | -9.0% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | +8.5% |
| 2021 | 5.4% | +34.5% |
| 2022 | 3.5% | -35.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.9% | 3.3% | 4.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 3.8% | 2.6% | 6.0% | 6 |
| 2010s | 4.7% | 3.7% | 5.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 3.5% | 5.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More education data for Ireland
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- 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)
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 3.5% 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 6.0% in 2001.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 2004.
- How does Ireland rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Ireland ranks 61st out of 124 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 down 11.7%. 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 Services 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