Duration of compulsory education in South Korea
South Korea: Duration of compulsory education was 9 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
9 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
120th
of 205 countries
All-time high
9 years
in 2004
All-time low
6 years
in 1997
Years of data
29
1997–2025
Duration of compulsory education in South Korea, 1997–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for duration of compulsory education in South Korea is 9 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in South Korea peaked at 9 years in 2004 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 1997.
That places South Korea 120th out of 205 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Duration of compulsory education in South Korea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 6 years | — |
| 1998 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 2003 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 2004 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 2005 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 9 years | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 9 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 11 years, 82% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 9 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9 years, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 8.1 years | 6 years | 9 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 120 Afghanistan 9 years compare
- 120 Albania 9 years compare
- 120 Azerbaijan 9 years compare
- 120 Bahrain 9 years compare
- 120 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 years compare
- 120 Brunei 9 years compare
- 120 China 9 years compare
- 120 Cuba 9 years compare
- 120 East Timor 9 years compare
- 120 Estonia 9 years compare
- 120 Gambia 9 years compare
- 120 Georgia 9 years compare
- 120 Guinea-Bissau 9 years compare
- 120 Hong Kong 9 years compare
- 120 Indonesia 9 years compare
- 120 Iran 9 years compare
- 120 Japan 9 years compare
- 120 Kazakhstan 9 years compare
- 120 Kiribati 9 years compare
- 120 Kuwait 9 years compare
- 120 Laos 9 years compare
- 120 Libya 9 years compare
- 120 Liechtenstein 9 years compare
- 120 Mali 9 years compare
- 120 Mauritania 9 years compare
- 120 Montenegro 9 years compare
- 120 Morocco 9 years compare
- 120 Nepal 9 years compare
- 120 Nigeria 9 years compare
- 120 Poland 9 years compare
- 120 Saudi Arabia 9 years compare
- 120 Sierra Leone 9 years compare
- 120 Slovenia 9 years compare
- 120 South Africa 9 years compare
- 120 Syria 9 years compare
- 120 Tajikistan 9 years compare
- 120 Thailand 9 years compare
- 120 Tunisia 9 years compare
- 120 Tuvalu 9 years compare
- 120 Yemen 9 years compare
More education data for South Korea
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 233,046 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 76 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 434,627 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 412,067 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.66 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.51 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -4.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0484 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in South Korea?
- Duration of compulsory education in South Korea was 9 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 9 years in 2004.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 1997.
- How does South Korea rank for duration of compulsory education?
- South Korea ranks 120th out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Duration of compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The number of years of compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.