Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary was 44.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Republic of Korea, 1970–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
Republic of Korea recorded 44.5% for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in 2024. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Republic of Korea peaked at 44.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 1970.
That places Republic of Korea 21st out of 128 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.8% | — |
| 1975 | 2.6% | +43.8% |
| 1980 | 4.0% | +53.1% |
| 1985 | 5.7% | +44.2% |
| 1990 | 7.2% | +25.5% |
| 1995 | 13.4% | +86.6% |
| 2000 | 17.8% | +32.3% |
| 2002 | 13.1% | -26.3% |
| 2004 | 23.1% | +76.6% |
| 2005 | 25.2% | +9.0% |
| 2006 | 26.2% | +3.8% |
| 2007 | 27.8% | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 29.3% | +5.5% |
| 2009 | 23.2% | -20.9% |
| 2010 | 30.1% | +30.0% |
| 2011 | 32.6% | +8.1% |
| 2012 | 33.7% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 34.8% | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 35.8% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 35.7% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 37.4% | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 38.3% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 39.4% | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 40.3% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 40.9% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 41.5% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 42.3% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 43.5% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 44.5% | +2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.0% | 5.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 10.3% | 7.2% | 13.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 23.2% | 13.1% | 29.3% | 8 |
| 2010s | 35.8% | 30.1% | 40.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.5% | 40.9% | 44.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
More education data for Republic of Korea
- 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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 100.87 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Republic of Korea?
- Educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary in Republic of Korea was 44.5% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 44.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 1970.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary?
- Republic of Korea ranks 21st out of 128 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment, at least completed short-cycle tertiary rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.5%. 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 completed short-cycle tertiary, population 25+, female (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed short-cycle tertiary education.