Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary male in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed primary … primary male was 99.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea stood at 99.4%. 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 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in South Korea peaked at 99.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 75.1%, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 36th of 135 countries on this measure, 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 male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 75.1% | — |
| 1985 | 91.5% | +21.8% |
| 1990 | 94.0% | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 94.9% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 96.2% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 97.8% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 96.9% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 98.2% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 98.4% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 98.4% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 96.3% | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 97.6% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 98.6% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 98.8% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 98.8% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 98.3% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 98.9% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 98.9% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 99.1% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 99.1% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 99.1% | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 99.1% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 99.3% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 99.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.3%, 1.0× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 99.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 92.3%, 1.1× the median. (17 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 75.1% | 75.1% | 75.1% | 1 |
| 1980s | 91.5% | 91.5% | 91.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 94.4% | 94.0% | 94.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.4% | 96.2% | 98.4% | 7 |
| 2010s | 98.7% | 97.6% | 99.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.2% | 99.1% | 99.4% | 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 99.4% 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 99.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.1% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- South Korea ranks 36th out of 135 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 0.5%. 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, male (%). 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