Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 9.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea, 1998–2024
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 9.2%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.8% on the previous year and down 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Republic of Korea peaked at 10.4% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 1999.
Republic of Korea ranks 8th of 122 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3.5% | — |
| 1999 | 3.4% | -1.6% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 3.8% | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 4.8% | +26.9% |
| 2003 | 6.5% | +34.8% |
| 2004 | 6.9% | +6.3% |
| 2006 | 5.3% | -23.6% |
| 2007 | 5.3% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 5.3% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 5.6% | +5.4% |
| 2011 | 5.7% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 9.7% | +68.3% |
| 2016 | 9.6% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 10.4% | +7.7% |
| 2019 | 10.2% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 10.1% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 10.0% | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 9.9% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 9.6% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 9.2% | -3.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.2% | 3.6% | 6.9% | 9 |
| 2010s | 9.1% | 5.7% | 10.4% | 5 |
| 2020s | 9.8% | 9.2% | 10.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
- 5 Samoa 9.9% compare
- 6 Philippines 9.5% compare
- 7 Austria 9.5% compare
- 9 Seychelles 8.8% compare
- 10 El Salvador 8.5% compare
- 11 Serbia 8.2% compare
More education data for Republic of Korea
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 173,133 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 100.87 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
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 9.2% 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 10.4% in 2017.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 1999.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Republic of Korea ranks 8th 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 down 4.6%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release