Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 71.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea is 71.6%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 16.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea peaked at 71.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 1970.
Republic of Korea ranks 45th of 94 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.6% | — |
| 2000 | 44.3% | +686.5% |
| 2005 | 49.6% | +11.9% |
| 2009 | 47.6% | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 55.6% | +16.8% |
| 2013 | 59.4% | +6.9% |
| 2014 | 61.4% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 62.7% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 64.1% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 64.6% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 65.1% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 65.9% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 66.3% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 67.5% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 68.4% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 70.2% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 71.6% | +2.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 47.2% | 44.3% | 49.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 62.3% | 55.6% | 65.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 68.8% | 66.3% | 71.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
More education data for Republic of Korea
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 173,133 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 100.87 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Republic of Korea was 71.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 71.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 1970.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- Republic of Korea ranks 45th out of 94 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Republic of Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release