Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea
Korea: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.8% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Korea recorded 1.8% for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 25.7% on the previous year and up 34.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea peaked at 2.5% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1975.
That places Korea 36th out of 162 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2.3% | — |
| 1971 | 2.5% | +7.4% |
| 1972 | 1.9% | -20.9% |
| 1973 | 1.7% | -14.0% |
| 1975 | 1.1% | -35.7% |
| 1976 | 1.7% | +60.5% |
| 1977 | 1.4% | -18.5% |
| 1979 | 1.7% | +18.3% |
| 1980 | 1.6% | -1.9% |
| 1981 | 1.8% | +10.5% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | +20.4% |
| 1983 | 2.0% | -9.8% |
| 1984 | 1.8% | -8.0% |
| 1985 | 1.7% | -3.3% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | -9.3% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | -8.5% |
| 1988 | 1.4% | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 1.4% | -1.3% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | -7.8% |
| 1991 | 1.5% | +13.5% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | -10.8% |
| 1995 | 1.3% | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 1.3% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 1.3% | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | +6.3% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | +25.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.1% | 2.5% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 5 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Korea
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 primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea was 1.8% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 1971.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1975.
- How does Korea rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Korea ranks 36th out of 162 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release