Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female was 76.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 76.1% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2024. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 10.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea peaked at 76.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 45th of 141 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 7.3% | — |
| 1980 | 16.9% | +129.9% |
| 1985 | 46.0% | +172.4% |
| 1990 | 37.2% | -19.2% |
| 1995 | 46.4% | +24.6% |
| 2000 | 55.3% | +19.3% |
| 2001 | 55.2% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 56.4% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 58.5% | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 59.6% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 62.0% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 62.2% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 63.5% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 64.3% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 58.7% | -8.7% |
| 2010 | 66.2% | +12.8% |
| 2011 | 66.1% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 66.7% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 67.7% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 69.0% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 70.4% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 71.0% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 71.3% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 71.7% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 72.4% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 72.9% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 73.5% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 74.0% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 75.4% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 76.1% | +1.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 76.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.7%, 97% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 76.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 57.0%, 1.3× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper female 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +172.4% | 16.9% | 46.0% |
| 1980 | +129.9% | 7.3% | 16.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 1 |
| 1980s | 31.5% | 16.9% | 46.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 41.8% | 37.2% | 46.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 59.6% | 55.2% | 64.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 69.2% | 66.1% | 72.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.4% | 72.9% | 76.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 42 Singapore 77.0% compare
- 43 France 76.7% compare
- 44 Tajikistan 76.2% compare
- 46 Luxembourg 76.0% compare
- 47 New Zealand 74.6% compare
- 48 Moldova 74.0% 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 upper secondary education or in South Korea?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea was 76.1% 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 76.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Korea ranks 45th out of 141 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 10.3%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release