Republic of Korea vs United States of America: Share of the population with tertiary education
Republic of Korea
58.3%
in 2020
United States of America
60.9%
in 2020
Republic of Korea rank
3rd
United States of America rank
2nd
Share of the population with tertiary education over time
- Republic of Korea
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 60.9% against 58.3% in Republic of Korea, a difference of 2.6%.
Across all 31 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.
Republic of Korea ranks 3rd and United States of America ranks 2nd of 111 countries.
United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 16 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Republic of Korea | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% | United States of America |
| 1880s | 0.0% | 1.2% | 1.2% | United States of America |
| 1890s | 0.0% | 2.6% | 2.6% | United States of America |
| 1900s | 0.1% | 4.2% | 4.2% | United States of America |
| 1910s | 0.1% | 6.0% | 5.9% | United States of America |
| 1920s | 0.3% | 8.0% | 7.6% | United States of America |
| 1930s | 0.6% | 10.0% | 9.3% | United States of America |
| 1940s | 0.9% | 12.1% | 11.2% | United States of America |
| 1950s | 1.5% | 15.2% | 13.8% | United States of America |
| 1960s | 3.4% | 19.1% | 15.7% | United States of America |
| 1970s | 6.8% | 26.5% | 19.7% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 11.1% | 39.3% | 28.2% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 20.2% | 50.5% | 30.3% | United States of America |
| 2000s | 33.0% | 56.3% | 23.3% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 49.0% | 60.3% | 11.3% | United States of America |
| 2020s | 58.3% | 60.9% | 2.6% | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of the population with tertiary education, Republic of Korea or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 60.9% against 58.3% in Republic of Korea as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of the population with tertiary education between Republic of Korea and United States of America?
- 2.6%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Republic of Korea and United States of America?
- 31 years are reported by both, from 1870 to 2020.
- How do Republic of Korea and United States of America rank globally for share of the population with tertiary education?
- Republic of Korea ranks 3rd and United States of America ranks 2nd of 111 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of the population with tertiary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the population aged 25 to 65 years who have either completed or partially completed tertiary education.