Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population was 0.9705 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Korea is 0.9705 GPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Korea peaked at 0.9705 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.7289 GPIA, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 85th of 132 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Korea, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.7289 GPIA | — |
| 1975 | 0.7949 GPIA | +9.1% |
| 1980 | 0.8297 GPIA | +4.4% |
| 1990 | 0.8852 GPIA | +6.7% |
| 1995 | 0.8938 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 0.9153 GPIA | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 0.9216 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.9305 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 0.9288 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 0.9318 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 0.9351 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 0.9203 GPIA | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.9435 GPIA | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 0.9421 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.9454 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.9488 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.9531 GPIA | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.9539 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.957 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.9572 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.958 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 0.9589 GPIA | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 0.9605 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.9643 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 0.9662 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 0.969 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 0.9705 GPIA | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.7619 GPIA | 0.7289 GPIA | 0.7949 GPIA | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.8297 GPIA | 0.8297 GPIA | 0.8297 GPIA | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.8895 GPIA | 0.8852 GPIA | 0.8938 GPIA | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.9262 GPIA | 0.9153 GPIA | 0.9351 GPIA | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.9518 GPIA | 0.9421 GPIA | 0.9589 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9661 GPIA | 0.9605 GPIA | 0.9705 GPIA | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Korea?
- Educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Korea was 0.9705 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9705 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7289 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population?
- South Korea ranks 85th out of 132 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. 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, published as part of Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population 25+ years, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release