Educational attainment rate … completed short-cycle tertiary rural in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate … completed short-cycle tertiary rural was 0.7226 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
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea is 0.7226 GPIA, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.3% on the previous year and up 20.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 0.7226 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0861 GPIA, in 1970.
That places South Korea 77th out of 88 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … completed short-cycle tertiary rural in South Korea, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0861 GPIA | — |
| 2000 | 0.4659 GPIA | +441.3% |
| 2001 | 0.379 GPIA | -18.7% |
| 2002 | 0.3882 GPIA | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 0.5304 GPIA | +36.6% |
| 2009 | 0.5498 GPIA | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 0.6125 GPIA | +11.4% |
| 2013 | 0.6108 GPIA | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.5975 GPIA | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 0.6823 GPIA | +14.2% |
| 2016 | 0.6243 GPIA | -8.5% |
| 2017 | 0.6338 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 0.656 GPIA | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 0.6623 GPIA | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 0.6744 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 0.6782 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 0.6781 GPIA | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.6864 GPIA | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 0.7226 GPIA | +5.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.7226 GPIA is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.26 GPIA, 58% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.7226 GPIA is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.26 GPIA, 58% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate … completed short-cycle tertiary rural 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 | +441.3% | 0.0861 GPIA | 0.4659 GPIA |
| 2005 | +36.6% | 0.3882 GPIA | 0.5304 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.0861 GPIA | 0.0861 GPIA | 0.0861 GPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.4627 GPIA | 0.379 GPIA | 0.5498 GPIA | 5 |
| 2010s | 0.6349 GPIA | 0.5975 GPIA | 0.6823 GPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.6879 GPIA | 0.6744 GPIA | 0.7226 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 0.7226 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 0.7226 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0861 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 77th out of 88 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 20.9%. 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, rural, 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