Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 9.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
9.7%
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
16th
of 122 countries
All-time high
9.9%
in 2023
All-time low
3.0%
in 1998
Years of data
21
1998–2024

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea, 1998–2024

2468101998201120241998: 3 %1999: 3.1 %2000: 3.3 %2001: 3 %2002: 4.4 %2003: 4.3 %2004: 5.3 %2006: 5.3 %2007: 6 %2008: 6.2 %2009: 6.6 %2011: 6.4 %2015: 9.3 %2016: 9.1 %2017: 9.6 %2019: 9.8 %2020: 9.7 %2021: 9.7 %2022: 9.8 %2023: 9.9 %2024: 9.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea is 9.7%, measured in 2024.

The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and up 4.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea peaked at 9.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 1998.

That places Republic of Korea 16th out of 122 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Services programmes, male (%) in Republic of Korea, 1998 to 2024.
Year % Change
1998 3.0%
1999 3.1% +6.3%
2000 3.3% +6.4%
2001 3.0% -9.0%
2002 4.4% +45.9%
2003 4.3% -3.9%
2004 5.3% +24.8%
2006 5.3% -0.0%
2007 6.0% +13.2%
2008 6.2% +2.6%
2009 6.6% +6.7%
2011 6.4% -3.2%
2015 9.3% +46.0%
2016 9.1% -2.2%
2017 9.6% +4.9%
2019 9.8% +2.3%
2020 9.7% -1.0%
2021 9.7% +0.4%
2022 9.8% +0.9%
2023 9.9% +0.7%
2024 9.7% -1.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 3.0% 3.0% 3.1% 2
2000s 4.9% 3.0% 6.6% 9
2010s 8.8% 6.4% 9.8% 5
2020s 9.7% 9.7% 9.9% 5

Countries ranked near Republic of Korea

  1. 13 Georgia 9.9% compare
  2. 14 Czechia 9.8% compare
  3. 15 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.7% compare
  4. 17 Spain 9.4% compare
  5. 18 Philippines 9.3% compare
  6. 19 Ecuador 9.2% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More education data for Republic of Korea

All data for Republic of Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea?
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea was 9.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Republic of Korea?
The highest recorded value was 9.9% in 2023.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Republic of Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 1998.
How does Republic of Korea rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
Republic of Korea ranks 16th out of 122 countries with data for 2024.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Republic of Korea data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Services programmes, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-services-programmes-male/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-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

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

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Services programmes, male (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
122 places, 1,764 data points, 1998–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release