Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary urban male in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary urban male was 99.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea, 2000–2024
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 99.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea peaked at 99.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 91.4%, in 2001.
South Korea ranks 33rd of 108 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary urban male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 97.8% | — |
| 2001 | 91.4% | -6.6% |
| 2002 | 91.7% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 98.1% | +7.0% |
| 2009 | 97.8% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 98.4% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 99.3% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 99.2% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 98.8% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 99.2% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 99.2% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 99.4% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.4% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 99.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.6%, 100% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 99.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 93.4%, 1.1× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 95.4% | 91.4% | 98.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 99.1% | 98.4% | 99.4% | 8 |
| 2020s | 99.5% | 99.4% | 99.5% | 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 99.5% 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 99.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 91.4% in 2001.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Korea ranks 33rd out of 108 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 0.3%. 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, urban, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release