Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea
Korea: Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP was 2.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea stood at 2.3%. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.1% on the previous year and up 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea peaked at 2.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1981.
Korea ranks 20th of 165 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.7% | — |
| 1971 | 0.8% | +17.1% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | +4.5% |
| 1973 | 0.6% | -27.0% |
| 1975 | 0.8% | +20.3% |
| 1976 | 0.7% | -10.7% |
| 1977 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | +22.0% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +20.8% |
| 1981 | 0.5% | -54.1% |
| 1982 | 2.1% | +300.8% |
| 1983 | 1.4% | -34.5% |
| 1984 | 1.4% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 1.5% | +5.2% |
| 1986 | 1.4% | -7.7% |
| 1987 | 1.3% | -5.2% |
| 1988 | 0.8% | -35.5% |
| 1989 | 0.9% | +7.7% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | +10.2% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | +33.1% |
| 1992 | 1.4% | +4.5% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | +3.6% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -29.4% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 1.2% | +18.0% |
| 1999 | 1.2% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | +37.0% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | +9.5% |
| 2020 | 1.8% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 1.8% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | +23.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 0.5% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 5 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 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 secondary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea?
- Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp in Korea was 2.3% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1981.
- How does Korea rank for government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Korea ranks 20th out of 165 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on secondary 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