Education spending in South Korea
South Korea: Education spending was 5.41 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Education spending in South Korea, 1970–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 5.41 for education spending in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 18.7% on the previous year and up 27.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, education spending in South Korea peaked at 6.21 in 1982 and was at its lowest, 2.06, in 1975.
That places South Korea 44th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Education spending in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.38 | — |
| 1971 | 3.7 | +9.4% |
| 1972 | 3.18 | -14.0% |
| 1973 | 2.64 | -16.9% |
| 1975 | 2.06 | -22.2% |
| 1976 | 2.71 | +31.8% |
| 1977 | 2.39 | -11.9% |
| 1979 | 2.97 | +24.3% |
| 1980 | 3.4 | +14.5% |
| 1981 | 2.85 | -16.3% |
| 1982 | 6.21 | +118.1% |
| 1983 | 4.23 | -31.9% |
| 1984 | 3.92 | -7.3% |
| 1985 | 3.89 | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 3.54 | -9.0% |
| 1987 | 3.28 | -7.4% |
| 1988 | 2.67 | -18.6% |
| 1989 | 2.97 | +11.5% |
| 1990 | 2.95 | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 3.38 | +14.8% |
| 1992 | 3.47 | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 3.58 | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 2.92 | -18.4% |
| 1995 | 2.84 | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 3.25 | +14.6% |
| 1999 | 3.25 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4.24 | +30.5% |
| 2016 | 4.12 | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 4.11 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 4.22 | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 4.42 | +4.8% |
| 2020 | 4.53 | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 4.56 | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 5.41 | +18.7% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 5.41 is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 5.41 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.25, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +118.1% | 2.85 | 6.21 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.88 | 2.06 | 3.7 | 8 |
| 1980s | 3.69 | 2.67 | 6.21 | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2 | 2.84 | 3.58 | 8 |
| 2010s | 4.22 | 4.11 | 4.42 | 5 |
| 2020s | 4.83 | 4.53 | 5.41 | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.79 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.94 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in South Korea?
- Education spending in South Korea was 5.41 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 6.21 in 1982.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.06 in 1975.
- How does South Korea rank for education spending?
- South Korea ranks 44th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is education spending rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Education spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).