Statizoid

Lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of: Lower secondary school starting age was 12 years in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
12 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
30th
of 209 countries
All-time high
12 years
in 2014
All-time low
10 years
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025

Lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, 1970–2025

02.557.51012.5197019972025

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2025, lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of stood at 12 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of peaked at 12 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 10 years, in 1970.

That places Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.

Lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, year by year

Year years Change
1970 10 years —
1971 10 years +0.0%
1972 10 years +0.0%
1973 10 years +0.0%
1974 10 years +0.0%
1975 10 years +0.0%
1976 10 years +0.0%
1977 10 years +0.0%
1978 10 years +0.0%
1979 10 years +0.0%
1980 10 years +0.0%
1981 10 years +0.0%
1982 10 years +0.0%
1983 10 years +0.0%
1984 10 years +0.0%
1985 10 years +0.0%
1986 10 years +0.0%
1987 10 years +0.0%
1988 10 years +0.0%
1989 10 years +0.0%
1990 10 years +0.0%
1991 10 years +0.0%
1992 10 years +0.0%
1993 10 years +0.0%
1994 10 years +0.0%
1995 10 years +0.0%
1996 10 years +0.0%
1997 10 years +0.0%
1998 11 years +10.0%
1999 11 years +0.0%
2000 11 years +0.0%
2001 11 years +0.0%
2002 11 years +0.0%
2003 11 years +0.0%
2004 11 years +0.0%
2005 11 years +0.0%
2006 11 years +0.0%
2007 11 years +0.0%
2008 11 years +0.0%
2009 11 years +0.0%
2010 11 years +0.0%
2011 11 years +0.0%
2012 11 years +0.0%
2013 11 years +0.0%
2014 12 years +9.1%
2015 12 years +0.0%
2016 12 years +0.0%
2017 12 years +0.0%
2018 12 years +0.0%
2019 12 years +0.0%
2020 12 years +0.0%
2021 12 years +0.0%
2022 12 years +0.0%
2023 12 years +0.0%
2024 12 years +0.0%
2025 12 years +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 10 years 10 years 10 years 10
1980s 10 years 10 years 10 years 10
1990s 10.2 years 10 years 11 years 10
2000s 11 years 11 years 11 years 10
2010s 11.6 years 11 years 12 years 10
2020s 12 years 12 years 12 years 6

Countries ranked near Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

  1. 30 American Samoa 12 years compare
  2. 30 Andorra 12 years compare
  3. 30 Angola 12 years compare
  4. 30 Antigua and Barbuda 12 years compare
  5. 30 Argentina 12 years compare
  6. 30 Aruba 12 years compare
  7. 30 Australia 12 years compare
  8. 30 Bahrain 12 years compare
  9. 30 Belgium 12 years compare
  10. 30 Benin 12 years compare
  11. 30 Bhutan 12 years compare
  12. 30 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 12 years compare
  13. 30 British Virgin Islands 12 years compare
  14. 30 Brunei Darussalam 12 years compare
  15. 30 Burkina Faso 12 years compare
  16. 30 Burundi 12 years compare
  17. 30 Cape Verde 12 years compare
  18. 30 Cambodia 12 years compare
  19. 30 Cameroon 12 years compare
  20. 30 Canada 12 years compare
  21. 30 Central African Republic 12 years compare
  22. 30 Chad 12 years compare
  23. 30 Chile 12 years compare
  24. 30 China 12 years compare
  25. 30 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 12 years compare
  26. 30 Congo 12 years compare
  27. 30 Costa Rica 12 years compare
  28. 30 Côte d'Ivoire 12 years compare
  29. 30 Cuba 12 years compare
  30. 30 Curaçao 12 years compare
  31. 30 Cyprus 12 years compare
  32. 30 Dominica 12 years compare
  33. 30 Dominican Republic 12 years compare
  34. 30 Ecuador 12 years compare
  35. 30 Egypt 12 years compare
  36. 30 Fiji 12 years compare
  37. 30 Georgia 12 years compare
  38. 30 Ghana 12 years compare
  39. 30 Greece 12 years compare
  40. 30 Grenada 12 years compare
  41. 30 Guinea-Bissau 12 years compare
  42. 30 Guyana 12 years compare
  43. 30 Haiti 12 years compare
  44. 30 Honduras 12 years compare
  45. 30 Hong Kong, China 12 years compare
  46. 30 Iran, Islamic Republic of 12 years compare
  47. 30 Iraq 12 years compare
  48. 30 Israel 12 years compare
  49. 30 Jamaica 12 years compare
  50. 30 Japan 12 years compare
  51. 30 Jordan 12 years compare
  52. 30 Kenya 12 years compare
  53. 30 Kiribati 12 years compare
  54. 30 Republic of Korea 12 years compare
  55. 30 Lebanon 12 years compare
  56. 30 Liberia 12 years compare
  57. 30 Libya 12 years compare
  58. 30 Liechtenstein 12 years compare
  59. 30 Luxembourg 12 years compare
  60. 30 Macau, China 12 years compare
  61. 30 Malawi 12 years compare
  62. 30 Malaysia 12 years compare
  63. 30 Maldives 12 years compare
  64. 30 Marshall Islands 12 years compare
  65. 30 Mauritania 12 years compare
  66. 30 Mexico 12 years compare
  67. 30 Micronesia, Federated States of 12 years compare
  68. 30 Morocco 12 years compare
  69. 30 Naoero 12 years compare
  70. 30 Netherlands 12 years compare
  71. 30 Nicaragua 12 years compare
  72. 30 Nigeria 12 years compare
  73. 30 Palau 12 years compare
  74. 30 Panama 12 years compare
  75. 30 Paraguay 12 years compare
  76. 30 Peru 12 years compare
  77. 30 Philippines 12 years compare
  78. 30 Portugal 12 years compare
  79. 30 Puerto Rico 12 years compare
  80. 30 Qatar 12 years compare
  81. 30 Rwanda 12 years compare
  82. 30 Sao Tome and Principe 12 years compare
  83. 30 Saudi Arabia 12 years compare
  84. 30 Senegal 12 years compare
  85. 30 Seychelles 12 years compare
  86. 30 Sierra Leone 12 years compare
  87. 30 Singapore 12 years compare
  88. 30 Sint Maarten 12 years compare
  89. 30 Slovenia 12 years compare
  90. 30 Solomon Islands 12 years compare
  91. 30 South Sudan 12 years compare
  92. 30 Spain 12 years compare
  93. 30 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12 years compare
  94. 30 Saint Lucia 12 years compare
  95. 30 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 years compare
  96. 30 Sudan 12 years compare
  97. 30 Suriname 12 years compare
  98. 30 Switzerland 12 years compare
  99. 30 Syrian Arab Republic 12 years compare
  100. 30 Thailand 12 years compare
  101. 30 Timor-Leste 12 years compare
  102. 30 Togo 12 years compare
  103. 30 Tonga 12 years compare
  104. 30 Trinidad and Tobago 12 years compare
  105. 30 Tunisia 12 years compare
  106. 30 Turks and Caicos Islands 12 years compare
  107. 30 Tuvalu 12 years compare
  108. 30 United States of America 12 years compare
  109. 30 Uruguay 12 years compare
  110. 30 Vanuatu 12 years compare
  111. 30 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 12 years compare
  112. 30 United States Virgin Islands 12 years compare
  113. 30 Yemen 12 years compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

All data for Korea, Democratic People's Republic of →

Frequently asked questions

What is lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
Lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of was 12 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
The highest recorded value was 12 years in 2014.
What is the lowest lower secondary school starting age recorded in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
The lowest recorded value was 10 years in 1970.
How does Korea, Democratic People's Republic of rank for lower secondary school starting age?
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ranks 30th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
Is lower secondary school starting age rising or falling in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Korea, Democratic People's Republic of data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary school starting age (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Lower secondary school starting age in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/lower-secondary-school-starting-age-years/korea-dem-people-s-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Lower secondary school starting age (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
209 places, 11,411 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Lower secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter lower secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.