Share of all students in upper secondary … upper both sexes general in South Korea
South Korea: Share of all students in upper secondary … upper both sexes general was 85.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea, 1997–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea is 85.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea peaked at 85.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 59.2%, in 1997.
That places South Korea 91st out of 190 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Share of all students in upper secondary … upper both sexes general in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 59.2% | — |
| 1998 | 60.0% | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 62.1% | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 63.9% | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 65.9% | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 67.9% | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 69.3% | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 70.5% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 71.5% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 72.3% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 73.2% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 74.5% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 75.6% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 76.3% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 78.7% | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 80.6% | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 82.3% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 82.2% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 82.2% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 82.5% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 82.5% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 82.5% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 82.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 82.8% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 83.4% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 84.2% | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 85.1% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 85.7% | +0.8% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 85.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 71.3%, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 85.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 93.7%, 91% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 60.4% | 59.2% | 62.1% | 3 |
| 2000s | 70.5% | 63.9% | 75.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.2% | 76.3% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 84.2% | 82.8% | 85.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 233,046 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea?
- Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea was 85.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 85.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.2% in 1997.
- How does South Korea rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- South Korea ranks 91st out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in general programmes, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release