Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary gender in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary gender was 0.8146 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
South Korea recorded 0.8146 GPIA for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 0.8146 GPIA in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1813 GPIA, in 1970.
That places South Korea 102nd out of 127 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary gender in South Korea, year by year
| Year | GPIA | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.1813 GPIA | — |
| 1975 | 0.2263 GPIA | +24.9% |
| 1980 | 0.2806 GPIA | +24.0% |
| 1985 | 0.3174 GPIA | +13.1% |
| 1990 | 0.3618 GPIA | +14.0% |
| 1995 | 0.4693 GPIA | +29.7% |
| 2000 | 0.58 GPIA | +23.6% |
| 2004 | 0.6053 GPIA | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 0.6533 GPIA | +7.9% |
| 2006 | 0.6466 GPIA | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 0.6639 GPIA | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 0.694 GPIA | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 0.738 GPIA | +6.3% |
| 2011 | 0.7024 GPIA | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 0.7157 GPIA | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 0.7222 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.7284 GPIA | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.7904 GPIA | +8.5% |
| 2016 | 0.7436 GPIA | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 0.7567 GPIA | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 0.7672 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 0.7785 GPIA | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 0.7831 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 0.7889 GPIA | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 0.7999 GPIA | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 0.805 GPIA | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 0.8146 GPIA | +1.2% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 0.8146 GPIA is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.14 GPIA, 71% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 0.8146 GPIA is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.09 GPIA, 75% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary gender 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 | +29.7% | 0.3618 GPIA | 0.4693 GPIA |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2038 GPIA | 0.1813 GPIA | 0.2263 GPIA | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.299 GPIA | 0.2806 GPIA | 0.3174 GPIA | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.4155 GPIA | 0.3618 GPIA | 0.4693 GPIA | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.6405 GPIA | 0.58 GPIA | 0.694 GPIA | 6 |
| 2010s | 0.7443 GPIA | 0.7024 GPIA | 0.7904 GPIA | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7983 GPIA | 0.7831 GPIA | 0.8146 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 0.8146 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 0.8146 GPIA in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1813 GPIA in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 102nd out of 127 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 11.8%. 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, adjusted gender parity index (GPIA). 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