Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea
Korea: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 4.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea is 4.5%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.6% on the previous year and up 57.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea peaked at 7.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2017.
That places Korea 160th out of 184 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.5% | — |
| 2001 | 7.0% | +8.2% |
| 2002 | 6.9% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 5.5% | -20.2% |
| 2004 | 4.0% | -28.1% |
| 2005 | 4.1% | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 5.7% | +39.0% |
| 2007 | 5.6% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 4.9% | -12.5% |
| 2009 | 5.2% | +6.2% |
| 2010 | 5.7% | +10.9% |
| 2011 | 4.2% | -26.5% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | -12.4% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 2.9% | -19.2% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | +6.6% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -27.2% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | -30.0% |
| 2018 | 5.8% | +275.3% |
| 2019 | 6.8% | +16.6% |
| 2020 | 7.4% | +8.8% |
| 2021 | 3.1% | -57.7% |
| 2022 | 4.4% | +39.2% |
| 2023 | 5.5% | +25.0% |
| 2024 | 4.5% | -17.6% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 4.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 7.8%, 58% of the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Korea's 4.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 20.0%, 23% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +275.3% | 1.6% | 5.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.5% | 4.0% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.0% | 1.6% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.0% | 3.1% | 7.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Korea
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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea was 4.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2017.
- How does Korea rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Korea ranks 160th out of 184 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.0%. 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 youth of 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