Average years of schooling among adults in South Korea
South Korea: Average years of schooling among adults was 12.72 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in South Korea, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 12.72 years for average years of schooling among adults in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in South Korea peaked at 12.72 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 9.27 years, in 1990.
That places South Korea 25th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.9 years | 9.27 years | 10.5 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.96 years | 10.62 years | 11.24 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.08 years | 11.64 years | 12.52 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.7 years | 12.62 years | 12.72 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 173,133 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 0.734 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in South Korea?
- Average years of schooling among adults in South Korea was 12.72 years in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest average years of schooling among adults recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 12.72 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.27 years in 1990.
- How does South Korea rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- South Korea ranks 25th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average years of schooling among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.