Japan vs South Korea: Share of children who have completed primary school
Japan
100.0%
in 2025
South Korea
100.0%
in 2025
Japan rank
1st
South Korea rank
1st
Share of children who have completed primary school over time
- Japan
- South Korea
How they compare
Japan currently reports 100.0% against 100.0% in South Korea, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1981 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 1st and South Korea ranks 1st of 165 countries.
Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | South Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 0.0% | Japan |
| 1990s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 0.0% | Japan |
| 2000s | 100.0% | 99.9% | 0.1% | Japan |
| 2010s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | Japan |
| 2020s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children who have completed primary school, Japan or South Korea?
- Japan, at 100.0% against 100.0% in South Korea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of children who have completed primary school between Japan and South Korea?
- 0.0%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and South Korea?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1981 to 2025.
- How do Japan and South Korea rank globally for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Japan ranks 1st and South Korea ranks 1st of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.