Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population was 36.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population in Republic of Korea, 2003–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
Republic of Korea recorded 36.5% for educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population in 2024. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 21.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population in Republic of Korea peaked at 36.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 2003.
That places Republic of Korea 12th out of 112 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 22.0% | — |
| 2004 | 22.3% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 23.0% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 23.9% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 24.8% | +3.5% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 26.5% | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 24.4% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 27.4% | +12.5% |
| 2012 | 27.8% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 28.8% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 30.1% | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 28.7% | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 31.8% | +10.8% |
| 2017 | 32.2% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 33.0% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 33.6% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 33.9% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 34.2% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 34.5% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 35.6% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 36.5% | +2.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.0% | 22.0% | 26.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 29.8% | 24.4% | 33.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.9% | 33.9% | 36.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
More education data for Republic of Korea
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,024 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0494 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 173,133 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population in Republic of Korea?
- Educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population in Republic of Korea was 36.5% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 36.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 2003.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population?
- Republic of Korea ranks 12th out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment, at least bachelor's or equivalent, population rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Republic of Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Educational attainment, at least Bachelor's or equivalent, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Bachelor's or equivalent.