Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Korea

Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 59.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
59.4%
Change on year
up 3.1%
World rank
42nd
of 109 countries
All-time high
59.4%
in 2024
All-time low
31.7%
in 2000
Years of data
18
2000–2024

Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Korea, 2000–2024

02040602000201220242000: 31.7 %2001: 32.2 %2002: 33.6 %2005: 37.7 %2009: 35.5 %2010: 43.9 %2013: 46.9 %2014: 48.8 %2015: 50.9 %2016: 51.4 %2017: 51.9 %2018: 51.8 %2019: 52.9 %2020: 53.6 %2021: 55 %2022: 55.8 %2023: 57.6 %2024: 59.4 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 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 Korea peaked at 59.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 31.7%, in 2000.

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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 Korea

  1. 39 Brunei Darussalam 62.5% compare
  2. 40 Poland 61.3% compare
  3. 41 Bulgaria 60.1% compare
  4. 43 Serbia 56.5% compare
  5. 44 Jamaica 53.8% compare
  6. 45 Timor-Leste 53.7% compare

See the full ranking of 109 places →

More education data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Korea?
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 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 Korea?
The highest recorded value was 59.4% in 2024.
What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 31.7% in 2000.
How does Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
Korea ranks 42nd out of 109 countries with data for 2024.
Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-upper-secondary-education-or-higher-population-25-10/korea-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-upper-secondary-education-or-higher-population-25-10/korea-rep/">Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Korea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
109 places, 1,692 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release