Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural male in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural male was 77.6% 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 77.6%. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea peaked at 77.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 51.5%, in 2000.
South Korea ranks 26th of 111 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper … upper rural male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 51.5% | — |
| 2001 | 53.9% | +4.5% |
| 2002 | 55.3% | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 57.5% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 54.9% | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 63.3% | +15.3% |
| 2013 | 68.2% | +7.8% |
| 2014 | 69.6% | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 70.0% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 71.4% | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 71.3% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 71.9% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 72.8% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 73.4% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 74.3% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 75.2% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 76.1% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 77.6% | +2.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 77.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 76.1%, 1.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 77.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 33.6%, 2.3× the median. (13 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 54.6% | 51.5% | 57.5% | 5 |
| 2010s | 69.8% | 63.3% | 72.8% | 8 |
| 2020s | 75.3% | 73.4% | 77.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 23 United Kingdom 79.2% compare
- 24 Luxembourg 78.7% compare
- 25 Estonia 78.1% compare
- 27 Belgium 77.0% compare
- 28 Finland 76.6% compare
- 29 Bosnia and Herzegovina 75.8% 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 77.6% 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 77.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.5% in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Korea ranks 26th out of 111 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 11.5%. 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, male (%). 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