Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea
Korea: Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 62,112 in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea stood at 62,112.
The figure is down 16.6% on the previous year and up 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea peaked at 141,291 in 2001 and was at its lowest, 26,722, in 2017.
That places Korea 80th out of 184 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 140,510 | — |
| 2001 | 141,291 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 131,407 | -7.0% |
| 2003 | 101,784 | -22.5% |
| 2004 | 72,267 | -29.0% |
| 2005 | 74,849 | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 106,723 | +42.6% |
| 2007 | 109,564 | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 99,425 | -9.3% |
| 2009 | 108,154 | +8.8% |
| 2010 | 119,642 | +10.6% |
| 2011 | 86,996 | -27.3% |
| 2012 | 74,944 | -13.9% |
| 2013 | 70,459 | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 54,830 | -22.2% |
| 2015 | 57,109 | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 40,411 | -29.2% |
| 2017 | 26,722 | -33.9% |
| 2018 | 92,014 | +244.3% |
| 2019 | 99,062 | +7.7% |
| 2020 | 103,150 | +4.1% |
| 2021 | 42,211 | -59.1% |
| 2022 | 57,806 | +36.9% |
| 2023 | 74,511 | +28.9% |
| 2024 | 62,112 | -16.6% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 62,112 is above the median for high income countries, which is 10,070, 6.2× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Korea's 62,112 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 10,096, 6.2× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school 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 | +244.3% | 26,722 | 92,014 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 108,597 | 72,267 | 141,291 | 10 |
| 2010s | 72,219 | 26,722 | 119,642 | 10 |
| 2020s | 67,958 | 42,211 | 103,150 | 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea?
- Out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Korea was 62,112 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 141,291 in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 26,722 in 2017.
- How does Korea rank for out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Korea ranks 80th out of 184 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.3%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (number). 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