Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea
Korea: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 3.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
3.7%
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
148th
of 179 countries
All-time high
4.8%
in 2020
All-time low
1.5%
in 2014
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea stood at 3.7%.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 139.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea peaked at 4.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 2014.
That places Korea 148th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.0% | — |
| 2001 | 4.1% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 4.2% | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 4.2% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 3.3% | -20.4% |
| 2005 | 3.1% | -6.7% |
| 2006 | 3.3% | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | -8.7% |
| 2008 | 3.6% | +18.7% |
| 2009 | 2.7% | -26.2% |
| 2010 | 3.0% | +12.6% |
| 2011 | 2.2% | -27.2% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -8.0% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | -7.6% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | -17.0% |
| 2015 | 2.9% | +84.8% |
| 2016 | 2.8% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | -14.0% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | +32.6% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | +16.2% |
| 2020 | 4.8% | +28.4% |
| 2021 | 2.1% | -55.7% |
| 2022 | 2.4% | +11.5% |
| 2023 | 3.7% | +54.0% |
| 2024 | 3.7% | +1.3% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 3.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.6%, 81% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Korea's 3.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12.8%, 29% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.5% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 1.5% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 2.1% | 4.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Korea
- 145 New Zealand 3.8% compare
- 146 Czechia 3.7% compare
- 147 Spain 3.7% compare
- 149 Argentina 3.6% compare
- 150 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3.5% compare
- 151 Kazakhstan 3.4% compare
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 out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Korea was 3.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 2014.
- How does Korea rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Korea ranks 148th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 139.1%. 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 Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release