Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural was 39.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 39.2% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and up 16.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 39.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.5%, in 1970.
That places South Korea 7th out of 95 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … attainment short-cycle tertiary rural in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.5% | — |
| 2000 | 16.1% | +359.1% |
| 2001 | 11.4% | -29.2% |
| 2002 | 12.4% | +9.1% |
| 2005 | 21.4% | +72.2% |
| 2009 | 18.5% | -13.5% |
| 2010 | 26.1% | +41.1% |
| 2013 | 32.7% | +25.3% |
| 2014 | 33.8% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 31.0% | -8.2% |
| 2016 | 33.9% | +9.3% |
| 2017 | 34.3% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 35.0% | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 36.0% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 36.1% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 37.1% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 38.2% | +3.1% |
| 2023 | 39.3% | +2.8% |
| 2024 | 39.2% | -0.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 39.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.5%, 1.7× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 39.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 10.6%, 3.7× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate … attainment 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 | +359.1% | 3.5% | 16.1% |
| 2005 | +72.2% | 12.4% | 21.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 15.9% | 11.4% | 21.4% | 5 |
| 2010s | 32.8% | 26.1% | 36.0% | 8 |
| 2020s | 38.0% | 36.1% | 39.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 4 Russia 42.4% compare
- 5 Luxembourg 40.7% compare
- 6 Switzerland 39.8% compare
- 8 Ireland 36.3% compare
- 9 United States 35.7% compare
- 10 Belgium 32.7% 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 39.2% 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 39.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.5% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 7th out of 95 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 16.0%. 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, male (%). 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