Official entrance age to primary education in South Korea
South Korea: Official entrance age to primary education was 6 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
6 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
33rd
of 218 countries
All-time high
6 years
in 1970
All-time low
6 years
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to primary education in South Korea, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, official entrance age to primary education in South Korea stood at 6 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to primary education in South Korea peaked at 6 years in 1970 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 1970.
That places South Korea 33rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
Official entrance age to primary education in South Korea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6 years | — |
| 1971 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 6 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 33 Aruba 6 years compare
- 33 Angola 6 years compare
- 33 Albania 6 years compare
- 33 Andorra 6 years compare
- 33 United Arab Emirates 6 years compare
- 33 Argentina 6 years compare
- 33 Armenia 6 years compare
- 33 American Samoa 6 years compare
- 33 Austria 6 years compare
- 33 Azerbaijan 6 years compare
- 33 Burundi 6 years compare
- 33 Belgium 6 years compare
- 33 Benin 6 years compare
- 33 Burkina Faso 6 years compare
- 33 Bangladesh 6 years compare
- 33 Bahrain 6 years compare
- 33 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 years compare
- 33 Belarus 6 years compare
- 33 Bolivia 6 years compare
- 33 Brazil 6 years compare
- 33 Brunei 6 years compare
- 33 Bhutan 6 years compare
- 33 Botswana 6 years compare
- 33 Central African Republic 6 years compare
- 33 Canada 6 years compare
- 33 Switzerland 6 years compare
- 33 Chile 6 years compare
- 33 China 6 years compare
- 33 Cote d'Ivoire 6 years compare
- 33 Cameroon 6 years compare
- 33 Democratic Republic of Congo 6 years compare
- 33 Congo 6 years compare
- 33 Colombia 6 years compare
- 33 Comoros 6 years compare
- 33 Cape Verde 6 years compare
- 33 Costa Rica 6 years compare
- 33 Cuba 6 years compare
- 33 Curacao 6 years compare
- 33 Cyprus 6 years compare
- 33 Czechia 6 years compare
- 33 Germany 6 years compare
- 33 Djibouti 6 years compare
- 33 Denmark 6 years compare
- 33 Dominican Republic 6 years compare
- 33 Algeria 6 years compare
- 33 Ecuador 6 years compare
- 33 Egypt 6 years compare
- 33 Eritrea 6 years compare
- 33 Western Sahara 6 years compare
- 33 Spain 6 years compare
- 33 Fiji 6 years compare
- 33 France 6 years compare
- 33 Micronesia (country) 6 years compare
- 33 Gabon 6 years compare
- 33 Georgia 6 years compare
- 33 Ghana 6 years compare
- 33 Guadeloupe 6 years compare
- 33 Guinea-Bissau 6 years compare
- 33 Greece 6 years compare
- 33 French Guiana 6 years compare
- 33 Guam 6 years compare
- 33 Guyana 6 years compare
- 33 Hong Kong 6 years compare
- 33 Honduras 6 years compare
- 33 Haiti 6 years compare
- 33 India 6 years compare
- 33 Iran 6 years compare
- 33 Iraq 6 years compare
- 33 Iceland 6 years compare
- 33 Israel 6 years compare
- 33 Italy 6 years compare
- 33 Jamaica 6 years compare
- 33 Jordan 6 years compare
- 33 Japan 6 years compare
- 33 Kazakhstan 6 years compare
- 33 Kenya 6 years compare
- 33 Cambodia 6 years compare
- 33 Kiribati 6 years compare
- 33 Kuwait 6 years compare
- 33 Laos 6 years compare
- 33 Lebanon 6 years compare
- 33 Liberia 6 years compare
- 33 Libya 6 years compare
- 33 Lesotho 6 years compare
- 33 Luxembourg 6 years compare
- 33 Macao 6 years compare
- 33 Morocco 6 years compare
- 33 Monaco 6 years compare
- 33 Madagascar 6 years compare
- 33 Maldives 6 years compare
- 33 Mexico 6 years compare
- 33 Marshall Islands 6 years compare
- 33 North Macedonia 6 years compare
- 33 Montenegro 6 years compare
- 33 Mongolia 6 years compare
- 33 Mozambique 6 years compare
- 33 Mauritania 6 years compare
- 33 Martinique 6 years compare
- 33 Malawi 6 years compare
- 33 Malaysia 6 years compare
- 33 New Caledonia 6 years compare
- 33 Nigeria 6 years compare
- 33 Nicaragua 6 years compare
- 33 Netherlands 6 years compare
- 33 Norway 6 years compare
- 33 Nauru 6 years compare
- 33 Oman 6 years compare
- 33 Panama 6 years compare
- 33 Peru 6 years compare
- 33 Philippines 6 years compare
- 33 Palau 6 years compare
- 33 Puerto Rico 6 years compare
- 33 Portugal 6 years compare
- 33 Paraguay 6 years compare
- 33 Palestine 6 years compare
- 33 French Polynesia 6 years compare
- 33 Qatar 6 years compare
- 33 Reunion 6 years compare
- 33 Romania 6 years compare
- 33 Rwanda 6 years compare
- 33 Saudi Arabia 6 years compare
- 33 Sudan 6 years compare
- 33 Senegal 6 years compare
- 33 Singapore 6 years compare
- 33 Solomon Islands 6 years compare
- 33 Sierra Leone 6 years compare
- 33 San Marino 6 years compare
- 33 Somalia 6 years compare
- 33 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 6 years compare
- 33 South Sudan 6 years compare
- 33 Sao Tome and Principe 6 years compare
- 33 Suriname 6 years compare
- 33 Slovakia 6 years compare
- 33 Slovenia 6 years compare
- 33 Eswatini 6 years compare
- 33 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 6 years compare
- 33 Seychelles 6 years compare
- 33 Syria 6 years compare
- 33 Turks and Caicos Islands 6 years compare
- 33 Chad 6 years compare
- 33 Togo 6 years compare
- 33 Thailand 6 years compare
- 33 Turkmenistan 6 years compare
- 33 East Timor 6 years compare
- 33 Tonga 6 years compare
- 33 Tunisia 6 years compare
- 33 Turkey 6 years compare
- 33 Tuvalu 6 years compare
- 33 Uganda 6 years compare
- 33 Ukraine 6 years compare
- 33 Uruguay 6 years compare
- 33 United States 6 years compare
- 33 Venezuela 6 years compare
- 33 United States Virgin Islands 6 years compare
- 33 Vietnam 6 years compare
- 33 Vanuatu 6 years compare
- 33 Yemen 6 years compare
- 33 Zimbabwe 6 years compare
More education data for South Korea
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,024 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0494 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 173,133 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to primary education in South Korea?
- Official entrance age to primary education in South Korea was 6 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to primary education recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 1970.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to primary education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for official entrance age to primary education?
- South Korea ranks 33rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to primary education rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to primary education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release