Population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea
South Korea: Population of compulsory school age, male was 1.99 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
Population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2024, population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea stood at 1.99 million. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.6% on the previous year and down 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea peaked at 3.24 million in 2004 and was at its lowest, 1.99 million, in 2024.
South Korea ranks 59th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.17 million | — |
| 2001 | 2.21 million | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 2.57 million | +16.3% |
| 2003 | 2.91 million | +13.4% |
| 2004 | 3.24 million | +11.2% |
| 2005 | 3.22 million | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 3.18 million | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 3.11 million | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 3.00 million | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 2.88 million | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 2.75 million | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 2.62 million | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 2.50 million | -4.7% |
| 2013 | 2.40 million | -4.1% |
| 2014 | 2.32 million | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 2.23 million | -4.0% |
| 2016 | 2.15 million | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 2.12 million | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 2.11 million | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 2.10 million | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 2.10 million | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.11 million | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 2.09 million | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 2.04 million | -2.5% |
| 2024 | 1.99 million | -2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.85 million | 2.17 million | 3.24 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.33 million | 2.10 million | 2.75 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.06 million | 1.99 million | 2.11 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,024 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0494 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea?
- Population of compulsory school age, male in South Korea was 1.99 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest population of compulsory school age, male recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.24 million in 2004.
- What is the lowest population of compulsory school age, male recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.99 million in 2024.
- How does South Korea rank for population of compulsory school age, male?
- South Korea ranks 59th out of 197 countries with data for 2024.
- Is population of compulsory school age, male rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Population of compulsory school age, male (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