Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational in South Korea
South Korea: Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational was 14.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea, 1997–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea stood at 14.3%. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.3% on the previous year and down 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in in South Korea peaked at 40.8% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 14.3%, in 2024.
South Korea ranks 102nd of 168 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Share of all students in upper … upper both sexes vocational in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 40.8% | — |
| 1998 | 40.0% | -2.1% |
| 1999 | 37.9% | -5.1% |
| 2000 | 36.1% | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 34.1% | -5.6% |
| 2002 | 32.1% | -6.0% |
| 2003 | 30.7% | -4.3% |
| 2004 | 29.5% | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 28.5% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 27.7% | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 26.8% | -3.3% |
| 2008 | 25.5% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 24.4% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 23.7% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 21.3% | -9.8% |
| 2012 | 19.4% | -8.9% |
| 2013 | 17.7% | -8.9% |
| 2014 | 17.8% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 17.8% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 17.5% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 17.5% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 17.5% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 17.5% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 17.2% | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 16.6% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 15.8% | -4.8% |
| 2023 | 14.9% | -5.3% |
| 2024 | 14.3% | -4.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 14.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 33.7%, 42% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 14.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 15.8%, 91% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 39.6% | 37.9% | 40.8% | 3 |
| 2000s | 29.5% | 24.4% | 36.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.8% | 17.5% | 23.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.8% | 14.3% | 17.2% | 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 14.3% 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 40.8% in 1997.
- What is the lowest share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.3% in 2024.
- How does South Korea rank for share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in?
- South Korea ranks 102nd out of 168 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 down 19.8%. 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 Share of all students in upper secondary education enrolled in vocational 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