Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Korea
Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 91.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Korea stood at 91.2%. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Korea peaked at 91.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 71.7%, in 2009.
That places Korea 50th out of 103 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 primary education or higher in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 72.5% | — |
| 2005 | 75.8% | +4.6% |
| 2009 | 71.7% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 79.4% | +10.7% |
| 2013 | 84.7% | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 85.7% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 83.3% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 86.3% | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 86.4% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 86.9% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 87.9% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 88.7% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 89.7% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 90.1% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 90.7% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 91.2% | +0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 73.4% | 71.7% | 75.8% | 3 |
| 2010s | 85.1% | 79.4% | 87.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 90.1% | 88.7% | 91.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More education data for 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 primary education or higher in Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Korea was 91.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 91.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 71.7% in 2009.
- How does Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Korea ranks 50th out of 103 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). 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