Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Korea
Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 96.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in 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 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 Korea peaked at 96.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 53.9%, in 1970.
That places Korea 55th out of 135 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 | 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 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 96.4% 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 96.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.9% in 1970.
- How does Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Korea ranks 55th out of 135 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 2.3%. 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, 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