Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea

South Korea: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 4.5% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
4.5%
Change on year
down 17.4%
World rank
49th
of 97 countries
All-time high
6.6%
in 2001
All-time low
3.8%
in 2002
Years of data
16
1998–2017

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea, 1998–2017

02461998200720171998: 4.4 %1999: 4.2 %2000: 4.2 %2001: 6.6 %2002: 3.8 %2003: 4.7 %2004: 4.3 %2005: 4 %2006: 3.9 %2007: 3.9 %2008: 4 %2009: 4.2 %2011: 4.3 %2015: 5.4 %2016: 5.5 %2017: 4.5 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea is 4.5%, measured in 2017.

The figure is down 17.4% on the previous year and up 15.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea peaked at 6.6% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2002.

That places South Korea 49th out of 97 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics programmes, both sexes (%) in South Korea, 1998 to 2017.
Year % Change
1998 4.4%
1999 4.2% -3.3%
2000 4.2% -2.0%
2001 6.6% +59.6%
2002 3.8% -42.7%
2003 4.7% +23.9%
2004 4.3% -8.2%
2005 4.0% -8.7%
2006 3.9% -0.8%
2007 3.9% +0.0%
2008 4.0% +1.8%
2009 4.2% +6.3%
2011 4.3% +1.9%
2015 5.4% +24.5%
2016 5.5% +1.9%
2017 4.5% -17.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 4.3% 4.2% 4.4% 2
2000s 4.4% 3.8% 6.6% 10
2010s 4.9% 4.3% 5.5% 4

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 46 Iran 4.8% compare
  2. 47 Qatar 4.6% compare
  3. 48 Finland 4.6% compare
  4. 50 Cambodia 4.5% compare
  5. 51 Serbia 4.5% compare
  6. 52 Lithuania 4.3% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More education data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea?
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea was 4.5% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 6.6% in 2001.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2002.
How does South Korea rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
South Korea ranks 49th out of 97 countries with data for 2017.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-natural-sciences/korea-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-natural-sciences/korea-rep/">Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in South Korea</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
97 places, 1,141 data points, 1998–2020
Last refreshed

Share of all tertiary graduates who completed Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics programmes in the reference year.