Share of all students in upper secondary … upper female general in South Korea
South Korea: Share of all students in upper secondary … upper female general was 87.8% 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
South Korea recorded 87.8% for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in 2024. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea peaked at 87.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 56.6%, in 1997.
That places South Korea 93rd out of 188 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 female general in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 56.6% | — |
| 1998 | 58.1% | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 61.2% | +5.3% |
| 2000 | 63.1% | +3.1% |
| 2001 | 65.2% | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 67.6% | +3.7% |
| 2003 | 69.3% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 70.8% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 71.9% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 72.9% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 73.8% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 75.4% | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 76.5% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 77.1% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 79.7% | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 81.9% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 83.9% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 83.9% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 84.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 84.7% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 84.8% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 84.9% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 84.9% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 85.1% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 85.6% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 86.4% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 87.2% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 87.8% | +0.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 87.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 75.7%, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 87.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 93.4%, 94% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 58.6% | 56.6% | 61.2% | 3 |
| 2000s | 70.6% | 63.1% | 76.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.0% | 77.1% | 84.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.4% | 85.1% | 87.8% | 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 87.8% 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 87.8% 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 56.6% in 1997.
- How does South Korea rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- South Korea ranks 93rd out of 188 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 4.6%. 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, female (%). 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