Profile of Age, Sex, Nationality and Region Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2020

Educational level by age - younger age groups have higher education levels

Younger age groups reported the highest levels of third level attainment, with over half of the 25-34 and 35-44 year olds in this category (60% and 57% respectively), compared to approximately a third (32%) of 60-64 year olds. This reflects increased levels of participation in third level education over time. See Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1.

Table 3.1 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group, Q2 2017- Q2 2020

Highest level of education attained	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level
15-19 years	23	55	21	1	0
20-24 years	1	4	57	12	25
25-34 years	2	5	19	14	60
35-44 years	2	6	19	16	57
45-54 years	4	11	19	16	50
55-59 years	7	18	23	15	37
60-64 years	13	21	22	13	32

The gap between males and females is more evident for those in the 25-44 age groups. Females aged 25-34 and 35-44 years old were more likely to have a third level qualification in Q2 2020 with rates of 63% and 62% respectively. The equivalent rates for males were 57% for the 25-34 age group and 52% for the 35-44 age group. This gender gap continues in older age groups but to a lesser extent. There was a 2-percentage point difference between the genders at the 50-59 age group and a 3-percentage point difference between the 60-64 age group. See Table 3.2.

Almost one in eight persons (13%) aged 60-64 years old had primary education as their highest level of educational attainment or no formal education. There is also a difference by gender for those with lower secondary education. For this cohort, 25% of males aged 60-64 years had lower secondary education only, compared to 17% of females. See Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group and sex, Q2 2020

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 38% in Q2 2010 to 51% in Q2 2020. This has been accompanied by a steady decrease in the proportion with primary education/no formal education from 11% in Q2 2010 to 4% in Q2 2020. See Figure 3.2.

Highest level of education attained	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level
2010	11	14	24	12	38
2011	10	14	24	13	39
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

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 2020, almost half of Irish nationals (49%) aged 25-64 years old had a third level qualification. In comparison, the EU14 States (excluding Ireland) had a third level attainment rate of 81% and 'Other' nationalities (non EU28 nationalities) were at 71%. The only nationality group with a lower rate of third level attainment than Irish nationals was the group of nationals from the 'EU15 to EU27' member states at 41%. See Table 3.3 and Figure 3.3.

Table 3.3 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by nationality, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020

Table 3.3 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by nationality, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020
% of persons
		Nationality
		Irish	Non - Irish	United Kingdom	EU14_2020 excl. IRL ²	EU15 to EU27_2020 ²	Other	All nationalities
Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	April to June 2017
Primary or below	None/1/2	6	3	4	1	3	3	5
Lower secondary	3	13	4	11	1	4	2	12
Higher secondary	4/5	21	23	17	9	35	16	22
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	14	12	11	6	18	6	14
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	45	58	58	83	40	74	47
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	3	2	3	1	2	2	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	9	11	14	9	10	12	10
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	22	26	26	41	16	37	22
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	12	18	15	32	12	23	13
All persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	April to June 2018
Primary or below	None/1/2	6	2	3	0	2	2	5
Lower secondary	3	13	6	15	1	6	3	12
Higher secondary	4/5	21	22	20	10	29	19	21
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	15	14	17	6	20	6	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	45	56	45	83	44	70	47
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	2	2	2	0	2	1	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	9	13	11	16	12	12	10
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	23	24	20	36	16	35	23
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	12	18	12	31	14	22	13
All persons aged 25 to 64		100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	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

Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	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
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.
Note: EU14_2020 excl. IRL before Quarter 1 2020 was formally classified as EU15 excl. IRL & UK.
Note: EU15-EU27_2020 before Quarter 1 2020 was formally classified as EU15 to EU28 States.

Open in Excel: Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2020 TBL 3.3 (XLS 13KB)

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Highest level of education attained	Primary or below	Lower secondary	Higher secondary	Post Leaving Certificate	Third level
Irish	5	11	20	15	49
United Kingdom	4	6	15	14	61
EU14_2020 excl. IRL	0	1	13	6	81
EU15 to EU27_2020	3	5	30	21	41
Other	2	3	15	8	71

Education level by region - Dublin has the highest education levels

In Dublin, over three in five persons (62%) aged 25-64 years old had a third level qualification in Q2 2020, but just four in ten (40%) have a third level qualification in the Midlands. See Table 3.4 and Map 1.1.

One in fourteen persons (7%) aged 25-64 years old in the Border region had a primary level education or no formal education in Q2 2020, while only 2% of persons had a primary education level or below in the West. See Table 3.4 and Map 1.2.

Table 3.4 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and NUTS3 region, Q2 2020

Table 3.4 Highest level of education attained by persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and NUTS3 region¹, Q2 2020
% of persons
		NUTS3 region¹
Highest level of education attained	NFQ²	Border	Dublin	Mid-East	Midland	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	West	State
Males aged 25 to 64
Primary or below	None/1/2	9	4	5	4	7	8	3	4	5
Lower secondary	3	14	9	11	15	15	15	12	10	12
Higher secondary	4/5	22	16	25	26	23	21	23	22	21
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	17	10	15	20	17	19	17	16	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	37	61	44	35	38	37	45	48	48
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	2	1	1	1	0	2	1	2	1
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	9	11	11	11	9	8	9	11	10
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	19	28	21	17	19	19	24	22	23
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	8	21	11	6	10	8	10	12	13
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	4	6	4	3	1	4
Lower secondary	3	9	8	9	8	8	10	8	6	8
Higher secondary	4/5	23	15	21	23	21	18	20	20	19
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	20	12	15	20	16	17	15	16	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	45	62	51	45	49	50	53	57	54
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	3	1	2	1	2	3	2	2	2
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	11	11	11	10	8	13	11	15	11
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	23	28	25	23	26	23	28	26	26
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	9	21	13	10	13	11	13	15	15
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	7	4	4	4	6	6	3	2	4
Lower secondary	3	11	9	10	12	12	12	10	8	10
Higher secondary	4/5	22	15	23	25	22	19	21	21	20
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	18	11	15	20	17	18	16	16	15
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	41	62	48	40	44	44	49	53	51
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	1
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	10	11	11	11	9	11	10	13	11
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	21	28	23	20	22	21	26	24	25
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	8	21	12	8	12	10	11	14	14
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 2020 TBL 3.4 (XLS 13KB)

Educational level of early school leavers – fewer females than males leave school early

In Q2 2020, 6% of those aged 18-24 were defined as early school leavers, a decrease from 14% in Q2 2004. In Q2 2020, females aged 18-24 years old were less likely than males to be classified as early school leavers (5% versus 6% respectively). See Table 3.5 and Figure 3.4.

Table 3.5 Early school leavers as a percentage of persons aged 18-24, classified by sex, Q2 2004 - Q2 2020

	Male	Female	Total
2004	17	10	14
2005	16	9	12
2006	17	9	13
2007	15	8	12
2008	15	7	11
2009	15	7	11
2010	14	9	12
2011	13	8	11
2012	12	8	10
2013	11	6	8
2014	8	5	6
2015	8	5	6
2016	7	4	6
2017	7	4	5
2018	6	3	5
2019	6	4	5
2020	6	5	6

Secondary education level of 20-24 year olds increases over the last 10 years

In Q2 2020, over nine out of ten (94%) of those aged 20-24 years old had attained at least a higher secondary level of education in Ireland. The proportion has increased from 84% in Q2 2000. In Q2 2020, males aged 20-24 years old were more likely than females to have attained at least a higher secondary level education (95% versus 94% respectively). See Table 3.6 and Figure 3.5.

Table 3.6 Percentage of persons aged 20-24 with at least a higher secondary level education, classified by sex, Q2 2010 - Q2 2020

	Male	Female	Total
2000	80	87	84
2001	81	89	85
2002	80	89	84
2003	82	90	86
2004	82	90	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

Tertiary education level of 30-34 year olds – more females than males have a 3rd level qualification

The proportion of the 30-34 age group with a third level qualification has slowly increased in recent years. In Q2 2020, 60% of persons aged 30-34 years old had a third level qualification. In Q2 2000, the equivalent figure was 28%. From 2003, a gap between the genders has been consistently seen, resulting in 63% of females with a third level qualification compared to 58% of males in Q2 2020. See Table 3.7 and Figure 3.6.

Table 3.7 Percentage of persons aged 30-34 with a third level qualification, classified by sex, Q2 2010 - Q2 2020

	Male	Female	Total
2000	26	29	28
2001	29	31	30
2002	31	34	32
2003	36	35	35
2004	37	41	39
2005	38	43	41
2006	36	46	41
2007	37	48	42
2008	40	52	46
2009	43	55	49
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

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Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2020