Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population was 0.9238 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 0.9238 GPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population in South Korea peaked at 0.9238 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.6471 GPIA, in 1970.
That places South Korea 68th out of 96 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Educational attainment: at least some primary (ISCED 1), population in South Korea, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.6471 GPIA | — |
| 2000 | 0.8147 GPIA | +25.9% |
| 2005 | 0.8363 GPIA | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 0.8308 GPIA | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 0.8598 GPIA | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 0.8732 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 0.8809 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.8859 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.8876 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.886 GPIA | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 0.8878 GPIA | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.8971 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 0.9078 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 0.919 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 0.9194 GPIA | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.9217 GPIA | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 0.9238 GPIA | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6471 GPIA | 0.6471 GPIA | 0.6471 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.8273 GPIA | 0.8147 GPIA | 0.8363 GPIA | 3 |
| 2010s | 0.8823 GPIA | 0.8598 GPIA | 0.8971 GPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.9183 GPIA | 0.9078 GPIA | 0.9238 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 0.9238 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 0.9238 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 0.6471 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment: at least some primary (isced 1), population?
- South Korea ranks 68th out of 96 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 4.9%. 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, rural, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release