Over-qualification rates by citizenship in Ireland

Ireland: Over-qualification rates by citizenship was 27.1% in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
27.1%
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
5th
of 36 countries
All-time high
33.7%
in 1997
All-time low
24.5%
in 2000
Years of data
30
1995–2025

Over-qualification rates by citizenship in Ireland, 1995–2025

01020301995201020251995: 30.8 Percentage1996: 33.2 Percentage1997: 33.7 Percentage1999: 24.8 Percentage2000: 24.5 Percentage2001: 25.3 Percentage2002: 25.9 Percentage2003: 26.5 Percentage2004: 27.2 Percentage2005: 30 Percentage2006: 30.8 Percentage2007: 30.2 Percentage2008: 30 Percentage2009: 29.3 Percentage2010: 28.9 Percentage2011: 30.1 Percentage2012: 28.9 Percentage2013: 30.2 Percentage2014: 29.8 Percentage2015: 29.2 Percentage2016: 28.6 Percentage2017: 29.4 Percentage2018: 29.6 Percentage2019: 30 Percentage2020: 29.5 Percentage2021: 28.6 Percentage2022: 28.4 Percentage2023: 28 Percentage2024: 27.4 Percentage2025: 27.1 Percentage

Source: Eurostat. Measured in Percentage.

Analysis

In 2025, over-qualification rates by citizenship in Ireland stood at 27.1%.

The figure is down 1.1% on the previous year and down 7.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, over-qualification rates by citizenship in Ireland peaked at 33.7% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 24.5%, in 2000.

That places Ireland 5th out of 36 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 30.6% 24.8% 33.7% 4
2000s 28.0% 24.5% 30.8% 10
2010s 29.5% 28.6% 30.2% 10
2020s 28.2% 27.1% 29.5% 6

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 2 Spain 33.8% compare
  2. 3 Greece 31.2% compare
  3. 4 Cyprus 27.4% compare
  4. 6 Austria 26.0% compare
  5. 7 United Kingdom 25.3% compare
  6. 8 Estonia 24.4% compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is over-qualification rates by citizenship in Ireland?
Over-qualification rates by citizenship in Ireland was 27.1% in 2025, according to Eurostat.
What is the highest over-qualification rates by citizenship recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 33.7% in 1997.
What is the lowest over-qualification rates by citizenship recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 24.5% in 2000.
How does Ireland rank for over-qualification rates by citizenship?
Ireland ranks 5th out of 36 countries with data for 2025.
Is over-qualification rates by citizenship rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from Eurostat, published as part of Over-qualification rates by citizenship. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat).

About this data

Indicator
Over-qualification rates by citizenship
Unit
Percentage
Source
Eurostat
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat)
Coverage
38 places, 1,011 data points, 1995–2025
Last refreshed