Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 97.9% in 2024. β² Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Republic of Korea, 1970β2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Republic of Korea recorded 97.9% for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 2024. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Republic of Korea peaked at 97.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 64.1%, in 1970.
That places Republic of Korea 48th out of 136 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 64.1% | 64.1% | 64.1% | 1 |
| 1980s | 84.6% | 84.6% | 84.6% | 1 |
| 1990s | 88.8% | 88.2% | 89.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.5% | 91.0% | 95.1% | 7 |
| 2010s | 96.2% | 94.3% | 97.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 97.5% | 97.1% | 97.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
- 45 Oman 98.4% compare
- 46 Luxembourg 98.3% compare
- 47 Italy 98.0% compare
- 49 Greece 97.5% compare
- 50 Seychelles 97.5% compare
- 51 Tajikistan 97.5% compare
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)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0033 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Republic of Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Republic of Korea was 97.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 97.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.1% in 1970.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Republic of Korea ranks 48th out of 136 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. 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 primary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release