Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea

Korea: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 1.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.2%
Change on year
up 71.9%
World rank
137th
of 169 countries
All-time high
2.6%
in 2017
All-time low
0.1%
in 2010
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea, 2000–2024

00.511.522.52000201220242000: 1.4 %2001: 1.3 %2002: 1.5 %2003: 1.4 %2004: 1.5 %2005: 0.925 %2006: 0.503 %2007: 0.246 %2008: 0.881 %2009: 0.823 %2010: 0.118 %2011: 0.65 %2012: 0.801 %2013: 1.5 %2014: 2 %2015: 1.1 %2016: 1.8 %2017: 2.6 %2018: 1.4 %2019: 0.818 %2020: 1.7 %2021: 1.5 %2022: 0.938 %2023: 0.671 %2024: 1.2 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea stood at 1.2%.

That represents a change of up 71.9% on the previous year and down 40.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea peaked at 2.6% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2010.

That places Korea 137th out of 169 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%) in Korea, 2000 to 2024.
Year % Change
2000 1.4%
2001 1.3% -1.5%
2002 1.5% +13.6%
2003 1.4% -9.6%
2004 1.5% +12.8%
2005 0.9% -39.9%
2006 0.5% -45.6%
2007 0.2% -51.0%
2008 0.9% +257.6%
2009 0.8% -6.6%
2010 0.1% -85.6%
2011 0.6% +450.4%
2012 0.8% +23.2%
2013 1.5% +89.3%
2014 2.0% +28.7%
2015 1.1% -41.5%
2016 1.8% +55.4%
2017 2.6% +44.2%
2018 1.4% -46.6%
2019 0.8% -40.1%
2020 1.7% +111.2%
2021 1.5% -14.5%
2022 0.9% -36.5%
2023 0.7% -28.4%
2024 1.2% +71.9%

Korea compared with similar countries

  • Korea's 1.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.2%, 52% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
  • Korea's 1.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.6%, 32% of the median. (24 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2011 +450.4% 0.1% 0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.0% 0.2% 1.5% 10
2010s 1.3% 0.1% 2.6% 10
2020s 1.2% 0.7% 1.7% 5

Countries ranked near Korea

  1. 134 Slovenia 1.3% compare
  2. 135 Norway 1.3% compare
  3. 136 Slovakia 1.2% compare
  4. 138 Bangladesh 1.1% compare
  5. 139 Samoa 0.9% compare
  6. 140 Denmark 0.9% compare

See the full ranking of 169 places →

More education data for Korea

All data for Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea was 1.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Korea?
The highest recorded value was 2.6% in 2017.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2010.
How does Korea rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Korea ranks 137th out of 169 countries with data for 2024.
Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.8%. 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 Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Korea. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-6/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
169 places, 2,667 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release