Educational attainment rate, completed … Bachelor urban both in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed … Bachelor urban both was 39.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea, 2010–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea is 39.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 19.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea peaked at 39.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 27.2%, in 2010.
South Korea ranks 11th of 89 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … Bachelor urban both in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 27.2% | — |
| 2013 | 31.6% | +16.4% |
| 2014 | 33.0% | +4.3% |
| 2015 | 31.6% | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 34.8% | +10.3% |
| 2017 | 35.3% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 36.2% | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 36.8% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 36.9% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 37.1% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 37.3% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 38.5% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 39.5% | +2.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 39.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 33.6%, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 39.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20.4%, 1.9× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 33.3% | 27.2% | 36.8% | 8 |
| 2020s | 37.9% | 36.9% | 39.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 8 United States 41.7% compare
- 9 United Kingdom 40.2% compare
- 10 Latvia 39.7% compare
- 12 Moldova 39.4% compare
- 13 Denmark 39.2% compare
- 14 Kazakhstan 38.8% 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 39.5% 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 39.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.2% in 2010.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Korea ranks 11th out of 89 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 19.7%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release