Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary female in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary female was 96.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea is 96.4%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea peaked at 96.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 53.9%, in 1970.
That places South Korea 56th 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.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary female in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 53.9% | — |
| 1985 | 78.1% | +45.0% |
| 1990 | 82.7% | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 84.1% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 87.3% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 90.1% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 89.6% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 91.2% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 91.7% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 92.0% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 86.3% | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 91.2% | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 92.9% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 93.4% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 93.8% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 94.2% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 92.8% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 94.6% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 94.7% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 94.9% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 95.0% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 95.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 95.5% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 95.8% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 96.2% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 96.4% | +0.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 96.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 97% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 96.4% 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 female 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 | +45.0% | 53.9% | 78.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 53.9% | 53.9% | 53.9% | 1 |
| 1980s | 78.1% | 78.1% | 78.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 83.4% | 82.7% | 84.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 89.7% | 86.3% | 92.0% | 7 |
| 2010s | 93.8% | 91.2% | 95.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 95.8% | 95.2% | 96.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
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 96.4% 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 96.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.9% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Korea ranks 56th out of 136 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 2.3%. 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, female (%). 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