School age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea
Republic of Korea: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 2.48 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2024, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea stood at 2.48 million. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 4.7% on the previous year and down 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea peaked at 4.19 million in 2002 and was at its lowest, 2.48 million, in 2024.
Republic of Korea ranks 60th of 222 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.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.07 million | — |
| 2001 | 4.15 million | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 4.19 million | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 4.19 million | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 4.12 million | -1.6% |
| 2005 | 4.02 million | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 3.92 million | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 3.81 million | -2.8% |
| 2008 | 3.63 million | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 3.45 million | -5.1% |
| 2010 | 3.28 million | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 3.11 million | -5.2% |
| 2012 | 2.93 million | -5.9% |
| 2013 | 2.78 million | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 2.75 million | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 2.72 million | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 2.69 million | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 2.72 million | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 2.76 million | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 2.77 million | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 2.72 million | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 2.72 million | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 2.70 million | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 2.61 million | -3.5% |
| 2024 | 2.48 million | -4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.95 million | 3.45 million | 4.19 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.85 million | 2.69 million | 3.28 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.65 million | 2.48 million | 2.72 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near Republic of Korea
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 school age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Republic of Korea was 2.48 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.19 million in 2002.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Republic of Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.48 million in 2024.
- How does Republic of Korea rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Republic of Korea ranks 60th out of 222 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Republic of Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.7%. 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, primary education, 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