Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female was 59.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea stood at 59.4%. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and up 21.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea peaked at 59.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 31.7%, in 2000.
South Korea ranks 42nd of 109 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural female in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 31.7% | — |
| 2001 | 32.2% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 33.6% | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 37.7% | +12.0% |
| 2009 | 35.5% | -5.7% |
| 2010 | 43.9% | +23.7% |
| 2013 | 46.9% | +6.9% |
| 2014 | 48.8% | +4.1% |
| 2015 | 50.9% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 51.4% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 51.9% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 51.8% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 52.9% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 53.6% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 55.0% | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 55.8% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 57.6% | +3.1% |
| 2024 | 59.4% | +3.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 59.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 70.7%, 84% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 59.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 31.5%, 1.9× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 34.1% | 31.7% | 37.7% | 5 |
| 2010s | 49.8% | 43.9% | 52.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 56.3% | 53.6% | 59.4% | 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 upper secondary education or in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea was 59.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 59.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.7% in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Korea ranks 42nd out of 109 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.6%. 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 upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release