Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both was 90.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Korea stood at 90.0%. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Korea peaked at 90.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 27.6%, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 44th of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 27.6% | — |
| 1975 | 35.6% | +29.1% |
| 1980 | 45.8% | +28.7% |
| 1990 | 67.3% | +46.9% |
| 1995 | 71.9% | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 77.0% | +7.1% |
| 2003 | 79.7% | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 80.5% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 80.5% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 82.0% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 82.6% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 83.0% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 77.9% | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 82.9% | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 84.2% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 84.8% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 85.3% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 86.0% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 85.7% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 87.1% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 87.4% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 87.6% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 87.9% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 88.1% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 88.5% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 88.8% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 89.6% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 90.0% | +0.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 90.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 91.6%, 98% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 90.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 80.6%, 1.1× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary … lower both in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +46.9% | 45.8% | 67.3% |
| 1975 | +29.1% | 27.6% | 35.6% |
| 1980 | +28.7% | 35.6% | 45.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 31.6% | 27.6% | 35.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 45.8% | 45.8% | 45.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 69.6% | 67.3% | 71.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 80.4% | 77.0% | 83.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 85.9% | 82.9% | 87.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 89.0% | 88.1% | 90.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 41 Cook Islands 90.9% compare
- 42 Luxembourg 90.7% compare
- 43 Netherlands 90.3% compare
- 45 Belgium 88.9% compare
- 46 Puerto Rico 88.8% compare
- 47 Brunei 88.7% 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 lower secondary education or in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in South Korea was 90.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 90.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.6% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
- South Korea ranks 44th out of 135 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. 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 lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release