School age population, secondary education, both sexes in South Korea
South Korea: School age population, secondary education, both sexes was 2.76 million in 2024. ▼ Falling
School age population, secondary education, both sexes in South Korea, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 2.76 million for school age population, secondary education, both sexes in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and down 23.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, secondary education, both sexes in South Korea peaked at 4.12 million in 2009 and was at its lowest, 2.69 million, in 2022.
South Korea ranks 60th of 220 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, secondary education, both sexes in South Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.04 million | — |
| 2001 | 3.86 million | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 3.76 million | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 3.76 million | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 3.82 million | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 3.90 million | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 3.99 million | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 4.06 million | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 4.11 million | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 4.12 million | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 4.07 million | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 3.98 million | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 3.90 million | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 3.80 million | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 3.63 million | -4.5% |
| 2015 | 3.45 million | -5.1% |
| 2016 | 3.27 million | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 3.10 million | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 2.91 million | -6.0% |
| 2019 | 2.77 million | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 2.75 million | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 2.72 million | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 2.69 million | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 2.73 million | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 2.76 million | +1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.94 million | 3.76 million | 4.12 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.49 million | 2.77 million | 4.07 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.73 million | 2.69 million | 2.76 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- 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 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, secondary education, both sexes in South Korea?
- School age population, secondary education, both sexes in South Korea was 2.76 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, secondary education, both sexes recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.12 million in 2009.
- What is the lowest school age population, secondary education, both sexes recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.69 million in 2022.
- How does South Korea rank for school age population, secondary education, both sexes?
- South Korea ranks 60th out of 220 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school age population, secondary education, both sexes rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.9%. 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 School age population, secondary 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