Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both was 49.6% 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 49.6% for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in South Korea peaked at 49.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.7%, in 1970.
That places South Korea 7th out of 129 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 both in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.7% | — |
| 1975 | 6.9% | +20.3% |
| 1980 | 8.9% | +29.2% |
| 1985 | 11.7% | +31.3% |
| 1990 | 13.4% | +14.4% |
| 1995 | 20.8% | +55.4% |
| 2000 | 24.1% | +15.5% |
| 2004 | 30.5% | +26.9% |
| 2005 | 31.6% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 33.2% | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 34.7% | +4.6% |
| 2009 | 28.0% | -19.3% |
| 2010 | 35.3% | +26.1% |
| 2011 | 39.3% | +11.4% |
| 2012 | 40.3% | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 41.3% | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 42.3% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 40.3% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 43.7% | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 44.4% | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 45.3% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 46.0% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 46.5% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 46.9% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 47.5% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 48.7% | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 49.6% | +1.9% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 49.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 37.8%, 1.3× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 49.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 23.3%, 2.1× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed … short-cycle tertiary both 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 | +55.4% | 13.4% | 20.8% |
| 1985 | +31.3% | 8.9% | 11.7% |
| 1980 | +29.2% | 6.9% | 8.9% |
| 2004 | +26.9% | 24.1% | 30.5% |
| 2010 | +26.1% | 28.0% | 35.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.3% | 5.7% | 6.9% | 2 |
| 1980s | 10.3% | 8.9% | 11.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 17.1% | 13.4% | 20.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 30.3% | 24.1% | 34.7% | 6 |
| 2010s | 41.8% | 35.3% | 46.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.8% | 46.5% | 49.6% | 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 49.6% 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 49.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.7% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- South Korea ranks 7th 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 17.1%. 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, both sexes (%). 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