Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female was 44.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea is 44.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 44.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 1970.
That places South Korea 21st out of 128 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.8% | — |
| 1975 | 2.6% | +43.8% |
| 1980 | 4.0% | +53.1% |
| 1985 | 5.7% | +44.2% |
| 1990 | 7.2% | +25.5% |
| 1995 | 13.4% | +86.6% |
| 2000 | 17.8% | +32.3% |
| 2002 | 13.1% | -26.3% |
| 2004 | 23.1% | +76.6% |
| 2005 | 25.2% | +9.0% |
| 2006 | 26.2% | +3.8% |
| 2007 | 27.8% | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 29.3% | +5.5% |
| 2009 | 23.2% | -20.9% |
| 2010 | 30.1% | +30.0% |
| 2011 | 32.6% | +8.1% |
| 2012 | 33.7% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 34.8% | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 35.8% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 35.7% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 37.4% | +4.8% |
| 2017 | 38.3% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 39.4% | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 40.3% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 40.9% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 41.5% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 42.3% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 43.5% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 44.5% | +2.5% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 44.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 38.7%, 1.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 44.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.4%, 1.9× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary female 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 | +86.6% | 7.2% | 13.4% |
| 2004 | +76.6% | 13.1% | 23.1% |
| 1980 | +53.1% | 2.6% | 4.0% |
| 1985 | +44.2% | 4.0% | 5.7% |
| 1975 | +43.8% | 1.8% | 2.6% |
| 2002 | -26.3% | 17.8% | 13.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 4.0% | 5.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 10.3% | 7.2% | 13.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 23.2% | 13.1% | 29.3% | 8 |
| 2010s | 35.8% | 30.1% | 40.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.5% | 40.9% | 44.5% | 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 44.5% 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 44.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 21st out of 128 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 24.5%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release