Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male was 41.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea, 2003–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 41.6% for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in 2024. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 14.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea peaked at 41.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 29.0%, in 2003.
South Korea ranks 4th of 112 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 29.0% | — |
| 2004 | 29.3% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 29.9% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 30.7% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 31.3% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 32.3% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 33.1% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 29.3% | -11.3% |
| 2011 | 34.0% | +15.9% |
| 2012 | 34.4% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 35.2% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 36.4% | +3.6% |
| 2015 | 33.4% | -8.2% |
| 2016 | 37.9% | +13.2% |
| 2017 | 38.1% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 38.9% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 39.2% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 39.2% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 39.6% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 39.6% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 41.0% | +3.3% |
| 2024 | 41.6% | +1.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 41.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 26.4%, 1.6× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 41.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.6%, 2.8× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.8% | 29.0% | 33.1% | 7 |
| 2010s | 35.7% | 29.3% | 39.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 40.2% | 39.2% | 41.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 1 United Arab Emirates 50.3% compare
- 2 Switzerland 46.1% compare
- 3 Luxembourg 43.1% compare
- 5 Ireland 39.3% compare
- 6 United Kingdom 38.2% compare
- 7 Singapore 38.2% compare
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 educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea was 41.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 41.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.0% in 2003.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Korea ranks 4th out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.2%. 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 rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release