Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in South Korea
South Korea: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 81.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea is 81.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in South Korea peaked at 81.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 15.7%, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 32nd of 142 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 15.7% | — |
| 1980 | 27.6% | +76.4% |
| 1985 | 57.0% | +106.3% |
| 1990 | 48.4% | -15.0% |
| 1995 | 56.5% | +16.7% |
| 2000 | 63.7% | +12.8% |
| 2001 | 64.7% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 65.6% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 67.0% | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 68.0% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 69.3% | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 70.1% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 71.2% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 71.8% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 66.0% | -8.1% |
| 2010 | 72.7% | +10.1% |
| 2011 | 73.4% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 74.1% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 74.8% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 75.9% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 76.4% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 77.3% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 77.6% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 77.9% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 78.5% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 78.8% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 79.3% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 79.8% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 80.9% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 81.5% | +0.7% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 81.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.5%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 81.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 57.7%, 1.4× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +106.3% | 27.6% | 57.0% |
| 1980 | +76.4% | 15.7% | 27.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.7% | 15.7% | 15.7% | 1 |
| 1980s | 42.3% | 27.6% | 57.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 52.4% | 48.4% | 56.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 67.7% | 63.7% | 71.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.9% | 72.7% | 78.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.1% | 78.8% | 81.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 29 Norway 81.9% compare
- 30 Germany 81.9% compare
- 31 Puerto Rico 81.8% compare
- 33 Croatia 81.4% compare
- 34 Tajikistan 80.7% compare
- 35 United Kingdom 80.5% 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 81.5% 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 81.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.7% in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- South Korea ranks 32nd out of 142 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 7.3%. 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, both sexes (%). 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