Inequality in education in South Korea
South Korea: Inequality in education was 0.0617 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Inequality in education in South Korea, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 0.0617 for inequality in education in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is down 7.6% on the previous year and down 29.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, inequality in education in South Korea peaked at 0.1064 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.0617, in 2023.
That places South Korea 125th out of 184 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.0858 | 0.0737 | 0.1064 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0676 | 0.0617 | 0.0723 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 122 North Korea 0.0668 compare
- 123 Seychelles 0.0666 compare
- 124 Oman 0.0651 compare
- 126 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.0608 compare
- 127 Tajikistan 0.0604 compare
- 128 Chile 0.0599 compare
More education data for South Korea
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 173,133 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 0.734 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is inequality in education in South Korea?
- Inequality in education in South Korea was 0.0617 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest inequality in education recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1064 in 2010.
- What is the lowest inequality in education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0617 in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for inequality in education?
- South Korea ranks 125th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is inequality in education rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Inequality in education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of the number of years adults older than 25 participated in formal education.