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Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2022

Profile of Age, Sex, Nationality and Region

Online ISSN: 2811-6054

CSO statistical publication, 28 November 2022, 11am

Education level by age - 25-34 year olds have higher education levels

Third level attainment was highest in younger age groups, with 63% of 25-34 year olds and 58% of 35-44 year olds holding a third level qualification. This compares to just 35% of 60-64 year olds with a third level qualification. This reflects increased levels of participation in third level education over time. See Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1.

Highest level of education attained	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level
15-19 years	21	56	22	1	0
20-24 years	1	4	56	9	29
25-34 years	2	3	19	13	63
35-44 years	2	6	19	15	58
45-54 years	3	10	18	16	53
55-59 years	6	17	23	17	38
60-64 years	9	19	23	13	35

Table 3.1 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group, Q2 2019- Q2 2022

Females across all age groupings had higher levels of third level attainment than males. Females aged 25-34 and 35-44 years with a third level qualification in Q2 2022 were 66% and 62% of females respectively. The equivalent rates for males were 60% for the 25-34 age group and 54% for the 35-44 age group. The gender gap of achieved third level qualification continues in older age groups, but is lowest (4% point difference) in the 60-64 age group. There was an 8 percentage point difference between the sexes at the 55-59 age group. See Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group and sex, Q2 2022

Over the last ten years, there has been an increase in the proportion of those aged 25-64 year olds with a third level education, from 40% in Q2 2012 to 53% in Q2 2022. This has been accompanied by a steady decrease in the proportion with primary education/no formal education from 10% in Q2 2012 to 3% in Q2 2022. See Figure 3.2.

Highest level of education attained	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level
2012	10	14	23	13	40
2013	9	13	23	13	42
2014	8	13	24	14	41
2015	8	12	24	13	43
2016	6	12	22	14	45
2017	5	12	22	14	47
2018	5	12	21	15	47
2019	5	11	22	15	47
2020	4	10	20	15	51
2021	4	9	20	15	53
2022	3	9	20	15	53

Education level by nationality – non-Irish nationals have higher education levels

Irish nationals had a lower educational attainment profile than non-Irish nationals. In Q2 2022, over half of Irish nationals (52%) aged 25-64 years old had a third level qualification. Non-Irish nationals in comparison had a third level qualification rate of 61%. Analysing it further, persons from the EU14 States (excluding Ireland) and 'Other' nationalities (non EU27 nationalities) both have a third level attainment rate of 81%. The only nationality group with a lower rate of third level attainment than Irish nationals is the group of nationals from the 'EU15 to EU27' member states, with 39% of persons from those countries living in Ireland having a third level qualification. See Figure 3.3 and Table 3.3.

Highest level of education attained	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level
Irish	4	10	19	15	52
United Kingdom	5	10	14	18	53
EU14_2021 excl. IRL	0	1	11	7	81
EU15 to EU27_2021	3	3	37	18	39
Other	2	1	9	6	81

Table 3.3 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by nationality, Q2 2019 - Q2 2022

Table 3.3 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by nationality, Q2 2019 - Q2 2022
% of persons
		Nationality
Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	Irish	Non - Irish	United Kingdom	EU14_2020 excl. IRL ²	EU15 to EU27_2020 ²	Other	All nationalities
April to June 2019
Primary or below	None/1/2	6	3	6	0	3	2	5
Lower secondary	3	12	5	10	1	7	2	11
Higher secondary	4/5	21	22	15	13	33	16	22
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	15	15	18	14	18	10	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	45	55	52	72	40	69	47
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	1	1	1	2	1	0	1
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	9	13	12	13	12	16	10
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	22	24	24	33	17	29	22
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	12	17	14	24	10	24	13
All persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100

April to June 2020
Primary or below	None/1/2	5	2	4	0	3	2	4
Lower secondary	3	11	4	6	1	5	3	10
Higher secondary	4/5	20	21	15	13	30	15	20
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	15	14	14	6	21	8	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	49	59	61	81	41	71	51
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	1	1	1	2	1	1	1
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	10	14	15	14	14	14	11
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	24	26	28	35	15	36	25
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	13	17	16	30	11	20	14
All persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100

April to June 2021
Primary or below	None/1/2	4	1	1	0	1	2	4
Lower secondary	3	11	4	13	0	2	4	9
Higher secondary	4/5	20	20	14	14	32	11	20
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	15	13	15	9	17	8	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	51	61	57	76	47	75	53
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	2	1	1	2	1	1	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	10	12	8	11	15	11	10
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	25	27	31	35	18	34	26
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	14	20	16	28	13	30	15
All persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100

April to June 2022
Primary or below	None/1/2	4	3	5	0	3	2	3
Lower secondary	3	10	3	10	1	3	1	9
Higher secondary	4/5	19	21	14	11	37	9	20
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	15	13	18	7	18	6	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	52	61	53	81	39	81	53
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	2	1	2	2	1	1	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	12	12	12	14	11	11	12
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	23	25	25	29	14	37	23
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	15	23	14	36	13	32	16
All persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100
¹ National Framework of Qualifications
²In light of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union with effect from 1 February 2020, the EU classification has been updated. EU14_2020 excl. IRL before Quarter 1 2020 was formally classified as EU15 excl. IRL & UK. EU15-EU27_2020 before Quarter 1 2020 was formally classified as EU15 to EU28 States.

Open in Excel: Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2022 Table 3.3 (XLS 13KB)

Education level by region – Dublin has highest third-level education level

In Dublin, over three in five persons (62%) aged 25-64 years old had a third level qualification in Q2 2022 - this compares to 46% of persons aged 25-64 years old in the Midland region that have a third level qualification.

In the Border region, 6% of persons aged 25-64 had a primary level education or no formal education in Q2 2022, while only 3% of persons had a primary level education or below in the West, South West, Midland and Dublin regions. See Maps 3.1, 3.2 and Table 3.4.

Table 3.4 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and NUTS3 region, Q2 2022

Table 3.4 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and NUTS3 region¹, Q2 2022
% of persons
		NUTS3 region¹
Highest level of education attained	NFQ²	Border	Dublin	Mid-East	Midlands	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	West	State
Males aged 25 to 64
Primary or below	None/1/2	8	3	4	4	4	4	3	3	4
Lower secondary	3	15	8	12	14	11	12	11	9	11
Higher secondary	4/5	21	16	22	25	24	20	22	26	21
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	15	11	16	17	19	20	18	13	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	42	62	46	40	42	44	47	48	50
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	3	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	11	10	13	15	8	11	9	10	11
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	19	26	20	15	21	22	23	20	22
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	9	24	13	9	12	9	13	15	15
Total males aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Females aged 25 to 64
Primary or below	None/1/2	4	3	3	2	3	4	3	2	3
Lower secondary	3	7	7	7	7	8	9	8	5	7
Higher secondary	4/5	19	15	22	25	19	16	16	23	18
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	17	13	14	13	15	19	17	13	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	53	63	53	53	55	52	57	56	57
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	3	2	3	1	3	2	3	3	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	13	11	13	15	11	12	11	16	12
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	26	25	24	22	29	23	26	21	25
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	11	25	13	14	12	14	17	16	17
Total females aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

All Persons aged 25 to 64
Primary or below	None/1/2	6	3	4	3	4	4	3	3	3
Lower secondary	3	11	7	10	10	10	10	9	7	9
Higher secondary	4/5	20	16	22	25	21	18	19	24	20
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	16	12	15	15	17	19	17	13	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	48	62	50	46	48	48	52	52	53
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	3	1	2	1	2	2	2	3	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	12	11	13	15	9	12	10	13	12
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	23	25	22	19	25	22	25	21	23
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	10	24	13	12	12	12	15	15	16
Total persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
¹ Please see background notes for details on the new NUTS3 regions.
² National Framework of Qualifications

Open in Excel: Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2022 Table 3.4 (XLS 13KB)

Secondary education level in 20-24 Year olds - Higher in females than males

In Q2 2022, 94% of those aged 20-24 years old had attained at least a higher secondary level of education in Ireland. In Q2 2022, Females aged 20-24 years old were more likely than males to have attained at least a higher secondary level education (97% versus 92% respectively). See Figure 3.4 and Table 3.5.

	Male	Female	Total
2002	80	89	84
2003	82	89	86
2004	82	89	86
2005	83	90	87
2006	81	90	86
2007	84	91	87
2008	84	92	88
2009	85	92	89
2010	86	93	90
2011	87	92	90
2012	87	92	90
2013	89	94	92
2014	92	95	93
2015	92	95	94
2016	92	96	94
2017	93	96	94
2018	93	96	95
2019	93	95	94
2020	95	94	94
2021	96	98	97
2022	92	97	94

Table 3.5 Percentage of persons aged 20-24 with at least a higher secondary level education, classified by sex, Q2 2012 - Q2 2022

Tertiary level education of 30-34 Year olds keeps increasing

The proportion of the 30-34 age group with a third level qualification has steadily increased in recent years. In Q2 2022, 64% of persons aged 30-34 years old had a third level qualification. In Q2 2002, the equivalent figure was 32%.

From 2003, a gap between the sexes has been consistently seen and this continues to Q2 2022 where 65% of females hold a third level qualification compared to 62% of males. See Figure 3.5 and Table 3.6.

	Male	Female	Total
2002	31	34	32
2003	36	35	35
2004	37	41	39
2005	38	43	40
2006	36	46	41
2007	38	49	43
2008	41	53	47
2009	44	56	50
2010	46	57	51
2011	45	57	51
2012	46	59	53
2013	47	59	53
2014	46	62	54
2015	45	61	53
2016	47	60	54
2017	48	63	55
2018	53	60	57
2019	50	60	55
2020	58	63	60
2021	57	66	61
2022	62	65	64

Table 3.6 Percentage of persons aged 30-34 with a third level qualification, classified by sex, Q2 2012 - Q2 2022

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Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2022

Profile of Age, Sex, Nationality and Region

Profile of Age, Sex, Nationality and Region

Education level by age - 25-34 year olds have higher education levels

Education level by nationality – non-Irish nationals have higher education levels

Education level by region – Dublin has highest third-level education level

Secondary education level in 20-24 Year olds - Higher in females than males

Tertiary level education of 30-34 Year olds keeps increasing

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Table 3.1 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group, Q2 2019 - Q2 2022
% of persons
	Highest level of education attained/NFQ¹
						Third Level, of which:
	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level (in total)	Higher Certificate or equivalent	Ordinary Degree or equivalent	Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	Postgraduate qualification
	None/1/2	3	4/5	4/5/6	6/7/8/9/10	6	7	8	9/10	Total
April to June 2019
15-19 years	24	52	22	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	1	5	56	12	26	1	5	18	2	100
25-34 years	2	6	22	15	55	1	9	29	15	100
35-44 years	3	7	20	16	54	1	12	25	16	100
45-54 years	6	13	22	16	43	1	10	20	11	100
55-59 years	9	20	22	16	33	2	8	14	9	100
60-64 years	14	21	23	12	30	1	7	14	7	100
All persons aged 15 to 64	7	15	25	14	40	1	9	20	11	100

April to June 2020
15-19 years	23	55	21	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	1	4	57	12	25	0	5	18	2	100
25-34 years	2	5	19	14	60	1	10	32	17	100
35-44 years	2	6	19	16	57	1	13	26	17	100
45-54 years	4	11	19	16	50	2	10	24	14	100
55-59 years	7	18	23	15	37	1	10	16	9	100
60-64 years	13	21	22	13	32	1	9	15	6	100
All persons aged 15 to 64	6	14	23	13	43	1	9	21	12	100

April to June 2021
15-19 years	15	60	24	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	1	2	60	8	29	0	5	21	3	100
25-34 years	1	5	21	13	61	1	8	34	18	100
35-44 years	2	6	17	16	59	2	12	28	18	100
45-54 years	4	11	19	15	52	2	11	24	15	100
55-59 years	6	16	22	16	39	2	11	18	9	100
60-64 years	10	19	23	14	34	2	9	15	7	100
All persons aged 15 to 64	5	14	24	13	45	1	9	22	12	100

April to June 2022
15-19 years	21	56	22	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	1	4	56	9	29	1	6	18	5	100
25-34 years	2	3	19	13	63	1	11	31	20	100
35-44 years	2	6	19	15	58	2	12	25	19	100
45-54 years	3	10	18	16	53	3	13	22	16	100
55-59 years	6	17	23	17	38	2	10	15	11	100
60-64 years	9	19	23	13	35	2	10	14	9	100
All persons aged 15 to 64	5	13	23	13	46	2	10	21	14	100
¹ National Framework of Qualifications

Table 3.2 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group and sex, Q2 2022
% of persons
	Highest level of education attained /NFQ¹
						Third Level, of which:
	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level (in total)	Higher Certificate or equivalent	Ordinary Degree or equivalent	Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	Postgraduate qualification
	None/1/2	3	4/5	4/5/6	6/7/8/9/10	6	7	8	9/10	Total
Males aged 15 to 64
15-19 years	22	55	22	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	2	6	61	8	23	0	5	14	4	100
25-34 years	1	4	22	13	60	1	11	30	19	100
35-44 years	2	7	21	16	54	2	11	24	17	100
45-54 years	4	11	19	16	50	2	11	21	16	100
55-59 years	7	20	21	17	34	2	10	14	9	100
60-64 years	10	23	21	12	33	1	10	14	9	100
All males aged 15 to 64	6	15	25	13	42	1	9	19	13	100

Females aged 15 to 64
15-19 years	20	56	23	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	1	2	51	10	35	1	6	22	5	100
25-34 years	2	3	16	13	66	1	12	32	21	100
35-44 years	2	4	17	14	62	2	12	27	21	100
45-54 years	3	9	16	16	56	3	15	23	16	100
55-59 years	4	13	25	16	42	3	10	17	12	100
60-64 years	8	15	26	14	37	4	11	14	8	100
All females aged 15 to 64	4	12	22	13	49	2	11	22	15	100

All persons aged 15 to 64
15-19 years	21	56	22	1	0	0	0	0	0	100
20-24 years	1	4	56	9	29	1	6	18	5	100
25-34 years	2	3	19	13	63	1	11	31	20	100
35-44 years	2	6	19	15	58	2	12	25	19	100
45-54 years	3	10	18	16	53	3	13	22	16	100
55-59 years	6	17	23	17	38	2	10	15	11	100
60-64 years	9	19	23	13	35	2	10	14	9	100
All persons aged 15 to 64	5	13	23	13	46	2	10	21	14	100
¹ National Framework of Qualifications