Educational attainment … education short-cycle tertiary location in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment … education short-cycle tertiary location was 0.5908 LPIA in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in LPIA.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea stood at 0.5908 LPIA. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 14.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 0.5908 LPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.075 LPIA, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 34th of 87 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Educational attainment … education short-cycle tertiary location in South Korea, year by year
| Year | LPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.075 LPIA | — |
| 2000 | 0.3615 LPIA | +382.2% |
| 2001 | 0.2976 LPIA | -17.7% |
| 2002 | 0.3155 LPIA | +6.0% |
| 2005 | 0.3939 LPIA | +24.9% |
| 2009 | 0.3709 LPIA | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 0.4767 LPIA | +28.5% |
| 2013 | 0.525 LPIA | +10.1% |
| 2014 | 0.5153 LPIA | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 0.5419 LPIA | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 0.5179 LPIA | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 0.5183 LPIA | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 0.5343 LPIA | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 0.5435 LPIA | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 0.5485 LPIA | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 0.5598 LPIA | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 0.5664 LPIA | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 0.5748 LPIA | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 0.5908 LPIA | +2.8% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.5908 LPIA is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.682 LPIA, 87% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.5908 LPIA is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5113 LPIA, 1.2× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment … education short-cycle tertiary location 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 | +382.2% | 0.075 LPIA | 0.3615 LPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.075 LPIA | 0.075 LPIA | 0.075 LPIA | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.3479 LPIA | 0.2976 LPIA | 0.3939 LPIA | 5 |
| 2010s | 0.5216 LPIA | 0.4767 LPIA | 0.5435 LPIA | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.568 LPIA | 0.5485 LPIA | 0.5908 LPIA | 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 0.5908 LPIA 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 0.5908 LPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.075 LPIA in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 34th out of 87 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 14.6%. 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, female, adjusted location parity index (LPIA). 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