Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea
Korea: Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.5% in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea stood at 0.5%. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 12.7% on the previous year and up 28.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea peaked at 0.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1970.
That places Korea 41st out of 169 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1971 | 0.0% | — |
| 1972 | 0.0% | — |
| 1973 | 0.0% | — |
| 1975 | 0.0% | — |
| 1976 | 0.0% | — |
| 1977 | 0.0% | — |
| 1979 | 0.0% | — |
| 1980 | 0.0% | — |
| 1981 | 0.0% | — |
| 1982 | 0.0% | +3092.5% |
| 1983 | 0.0% | -67.4% |
| 1984 | 0.0% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 0.0% | -12.5% |
| 1986 | 0.0% | -6.1% |
| 1987 | 0.0% | -42.1% |
| 1988 | 0.0% | -17.1% |
| 1989 | 0.0% | -20.0% |
| 1990 | 0.0% | -12.9% |
| 1991 | 0.0% | +550.0% |
| 1992 | 0.0% | +44.6% |
| 1993 | 0.0% | -18.9% |
| 1994 | 0.0% | -5.0% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | -12.6% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +41.6% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | -20.1% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +1272.3% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | +16.9% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +12.7% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 0.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4%, 1.2× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Korea's 0.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2%, 2.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +3092.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2016 | +1272.3% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 1991 | +550.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 4 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Korea
- 38 Austria 0.5% compare
- 39 Luxembourg 0.5% compare
- 40 Brazil 0.5% compare
- 42 San Marino 0.5% compare
- 43 Norway 0.5% compare
- 44 Timor-Leste 0.5% compare
More education data for Korea
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0484 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea?
- Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea was 0.5% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1970.
- How does Korea rank for government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Korea ranks 41st out of 169 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release