Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor both was 36.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea, 2003–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea stood at 36.5%. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 21.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in South Korea peaked at 36.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 2003.
South Korea ranks 12th 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 both in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 22.0% | — |
| 2004 | 22.3% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 23.0% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 23.9% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 24.8% | +3.5% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 26.5% | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 24.4% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 27.4% | +12.5% |
| 2012 | 27.8% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 28.8% | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 30.1% | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 28.7% | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 31.8% | +10.8% |
| 2017 | 32.2% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 33.0% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 33.6% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 33.9% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 34.2% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 34.5% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 35.6% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 36.5% | +2.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 36.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.7%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 36.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.0%, 2.3× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.0% | 22.0% | 26.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 29.8% | 24.4% | 33.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.9% | 33.9% | 36.5% | 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 36.5% 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 36.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 2003.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- South Korea ranks 12th 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 21.2%. 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, both sexes (%). 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