Educational attainment rate … adjusted short-cycle tertiary urban in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate … adjusted short-cycle tertiary urban was 0.8237 GPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in GPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea stood at 0.8237 GPIA. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 0.8237 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.2125 GPIA, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 77th of 99 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … adjusted short-cycle tertiary urban in South Korea, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.2125 GPIA | — |
| 2000 | 0.5982 GPIA | +181.5% |
| 2001 | 0.4911 GPIA | -17.9% |
| 2002 | 0.5117 GPIA | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 0.6708 GPIA | +31.1% |
| 2009 | 0.7222 GPIA | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 0.756 GPIA | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 0.7357 GPIA | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 0.7448 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 0.8047 GPIA | +8.0% |
| 2016 | 0.7574 GPIA | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 0.7708 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 0.7798 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.792 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 0.7951 GPIA | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 0.8014 GPIA | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 0.8144 GPIA | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 0.8189 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 0.8237 GPIA | +0.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.8237 GPIA is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.1 GPIA, 75% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.8237 GPIA is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.09 GPIA, 76% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate … adjusted short-cycle tertiary urban 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +181.5% | 0.2125 GPIA | 0.5982 GPIA |
| 2005 | +31.1% | 0.5117 GPIA | 0.6708 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2125 GPIA | 0.2125 GPIA | 0.2125 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.5988 GPIA | 0.4911 GPIA | 0.7222 GPIA | 5 |
| 2010s | 0.7677 GPIA | 0.7357 GPIA | 0.8047 GPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.8107 GPIA | 0.7951 GPIA | 0.8237 GPIA | 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 short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea was 0.8237 GPIA in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8237 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2125 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 77th out of 99 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release