Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral male in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral male was 1.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral or equivalent in South Korea, 2009–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in South Korea is 1.4%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 7.3% on the previous year and up 29.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in South Korea peaked at 1.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2009.
South Korea ranks 18th of 64 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Doctoral … Doctoral male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0.7% | — |
| 2010 | 0.9% | +29.6% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -12.7% |
| 2012 | 0.9% | +8.9% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | +12.0% |
| 2014 | 1.0% | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +11.7% |
| 2016 | 1.1% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +6.5% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -4.6% |
| 2020 | 1.0% | -9.5% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 1.3% | +14.6% |
| 2024 | 1.4% | +7.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 1.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 1.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 1.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7%, 1.9× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 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 doctoral or equivalent in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent in South Korea was 1.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2009.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent?
- South Korea ranks 18th out of 64 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed doctoral or equivalent rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.6%. 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 Doctoral or equivalent education, population 25+ years, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release