Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both was 97.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South 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 South Korea peaked at 97.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 64.1%, in 1970.
That places South Korea 49th out of 137 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.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary both in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 64.1% | — |
| 1985 | 84.6% | +32.0% |
| 1990 | 88.2% | +4.3% |
| 1995 | 89.4% | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 91.7% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 93.9% | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 93.1% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 94.6% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 95.0% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 95.1% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 91.0% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 94.3% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 95.7% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 96.1% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 96.3% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 96.5% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 95.5% | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 96.7% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 96.8% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 97.0% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 97.1% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 97.1% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 97.3% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 97.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 97.7% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 97.9% | +0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 97.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.1%, 99% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 97.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 91.4%, 1.1× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +32.0% | 64.1% | 84.6% |
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 South Korea
- 46 Oman 98.4% compare
- 47 Luxembourg 98.3% compare
- 48 Italy 98.0% compare
- 50 Greece 97.5% compare
- 51 Seychelles 97.5% compare
- 52 Tajikistan 97.5% 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 primary education or higher in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South 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 South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 97.9% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.1% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Korea ranks 49th out of 137 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. 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 primary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release