Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male was 54.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea stood at 54.7%. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 11.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 54.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 4th of 129 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 10.0% | — |
| 1975 | 11.5% | +15.2% |
| 1980 | 14.2% | +23.5% |
| 1985 | 18.1% | +27.5% |
| 1990 | 19.9% | +10.1% |
| 1995 | 28.6% | +43.8% |
| 2000 | 30.6% | +7.1% |
| 2004 | 38.2% | +24.7% |
| 2005 | 38.6% | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 40.4% | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 41.9% | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 33.4% | -20.2% |
| 2010 | 40.8% | +22.2% |
| 2011 | 46.4% | +13.6% |
| 2012 | 47.1% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 48.1% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 49.1% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 45.1% | -8.1% |
| 2016 | 50.2% | +11.3% |
| 2017 | 50.6% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 51.4% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 51.8% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 52.2% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 52.5% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 52.9% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 54.0% | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 54.7% | +1.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 54.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 34.0%, 1.6× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 54.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 21.9%, 2.5× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary male 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +43.8% | 19.9% | 28.6% |
| 1985 | +27.5% | 14.2% | 18.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10.7% | 10.0% | 11.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 16.1% | 14.2% | 18.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 24.3% | 19.9% | 28.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 37.2% | 30.6% | 41.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 48.1% | 40.8% | 51.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.3% | 52.2% | 54.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 1 Uzbekistan 65.2% compare
- 2 Russia 61.4% compare
- 3 Singapore 55.5% compare
- 5 United Arab Emirates 53.3% compare
- 6 United States 47.6% compare
- 7 United Kingdom 46.8% compare
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 54.7% 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 54.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 4th out of 129 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 11.4%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release