School age population, primary education, both sexes in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 1.67 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
1.67 million
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
72nd
of 222 countries
All-time high
1.98 million
in 1977
All-time low
1.37 million
in 1987
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of recorded 1.67 million for school age population, primary education, both sexes in 2025.
The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of peaked at 1.98 million in 1977 and was at its lowest, 1.37 million, in 1987.
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ranks 72nd of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.47 million | — |
| 1971 | 1.53 million | +3.5% |
| 1972 | 1.61 million | +5.3% |
| 1973 | 1.69 million | +5.1% |
| 1974 | 1.78 million | +5.7% |
| 1975 | 1.86 million | +4.5% |
| 1976 | 1.93 million | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 1.98 million | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 1.96 million | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 1.98 million | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 1.92 million | -3.1% |
| 1981 | 1.82 million | -5.0% |
| 1982 | 1.72 million | -5.5% |
| 1983 | 1.57 million | -8.8% |
| 1984 | 1.47 million | -6.0% |
| 1985 | 1.41 million | -4.2% |
| 1986 | 1.37 million | -2.6% |
| 1987 | 1.37 million | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 1.40 million | +2.2% |
| 1989 | 1.44 million | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 1.46 million | +1.9% |
| 1991 | 1.49 million | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 1.51 million | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 1.53 million | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 1.55 million | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 1.57 million | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 1.58 million | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 1.60 million | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 1.59 million | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 1.61 million | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 1.63 million | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 1.65 million | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 1.65 million | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 1.64 million | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.64 million | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.62 million | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 1.61 million | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 1.59 million | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 1.56 million | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 1.53 million | -1.8% |
| 2010 | 1.50 million | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 1.46 million | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 1.43 million | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 1.38 million | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 1.71 million | +23.9% |
| 2015 | 1.68 million | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 1.66 million | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 1.64 million | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 1.64 million | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 1.63 million | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 1.63 million | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 1.62 million | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 1.63 million | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 1.65 million | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 1.66 million | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 1.67 million | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.78 million | 1.47 million | 1.98 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.55 million | 1.37 million | 1.92 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.55 million | 1.46 million | 1.61 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.61 million | 1.53 million | 1.65 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.57 million | 1.38 million | 1.71 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.64 million | 1.62 million | 1.67 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
More education data for Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
- Theoretical duration of lower 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 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2022)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 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 pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of was 1.67 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- The highest recorded value was 1.98 million in 1977.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.37 million in 1987.
- How does Korea, Democratic People's Republic of rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ranks 72nd out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea, Democratic People's Republic of data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release