School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 319,342 in 2024. ▼ Falling
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Republic of Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Republic of Korea recorded 319,342 for school age population, one year before the official primary entry in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.9% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Republic of Korea peaked at 709,396 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 319,342, in 2024.
That places Republic of Korea 71st out of 222 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.
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 709,396 | — |
| 2001 | 693,065 | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 671,155 | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 642,845 | -4.2% |
| 2004 | 620,170 | -3.5% |
| 2005 | 617,336 | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 596,382 | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 513,182 | -14.0% |
| 2008 | 477,074 | -7.0% |
| 2009 | 475,866 | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 442,457 | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 433,610 | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 453,552 | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 481,594 | +6.2% |
| 2014 | 448,579 | -6.9% |
| 2015 | 442,001 | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 478,946 | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 469,166 | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 460,068 | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 433,410 | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 441,476 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 429,652 | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 384,475 | -10.5% |
| 2023 | 346,711 | -9.8% |
| 2024 | 319,342 | -7.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 601,647 | 475,866 | 709,396 | 10 |
| 2010s | 454,338 | 433,410 | 481,594 | 10 |
| 2020s | 384,331 | 319,342 | 441,476 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
More education data for Republic of Korea
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Republic of Korea?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Republic of Korea was 319,342 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 709,396 in 2000.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 319,342 in 2024.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- Republic of Korea ranks 71st out of 222 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Republic of Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, one year before the official primary entry 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