Educational attainment rate, completed … female Bachelor urban s in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed … female Bachelor urban s was 34.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea, 2010–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea stood at 34.3%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% on the previous year and up 29.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea peaked at 34.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 22.3%, in 2010.
South Korea ranks 24th of 86 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … female Bachelor urban s in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 22.3% | — |
| 2013 | 25.1% | +12.8% |
| 2014 | 26.5% | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 26.8% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 28.6% | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 29.3% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 30.3% | +3.2% |
| 2019 | 31.1% | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 31.6% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 31.9% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 32.4% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 33.3% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 34.3% | +3.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 34.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 34.3%, 1.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 34.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 22.5%, 1.5× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 27.5% | 22.3% | 31.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 32.7% | 31.6% | 34.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
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 34.3% 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 34.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.3% in 2010.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Korea ranks 24th out of 86 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 29.2%. 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, urban, female (%). 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