Labor force with advanced education (% of total working-age) in South Korea
South Korea: Labor force with advanced education (% of total working-age) was 74.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Labor force with advanced education in South Korea, 2000–2025
Source: Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO). Measured in % of total working-age population with advanced education.
Analysis
In 2025, labor force with advanced education in South Korea stood at 74.7%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force with advanced education in South Korea peaked at 74.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 65.7%, in 2000.
That places South Korea 88th out of 125 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Labor force with advanced education (% of total working-age) in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total working-age population with advanced education | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 65.7% | — |
| 2001 | 65.9% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 66.0% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 68.0% | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 69.4% | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 69.5% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 69.8% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 69.9% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 69.8% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 69.4% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 69.8% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 70.2% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 70.6% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 70.8% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 71.3% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 71.9% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 72.1% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 72.3% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 72.2% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 72.3% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 71.4% | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 72.2% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 73.5% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 74.1% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 74.7% | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 74.7% | +0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 74.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 79.4%, 94% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 74.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 79.7%, 94% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 68.3% | 65.7% | 69.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.4% | 69.8% | 72.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.4% | 71.4% | 74.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More work & labour data for South Korea
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 16,840 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 63.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 29,824 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 2.96 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.78 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 97,052 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 65,686 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 62.02 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 0.9719 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate -0.1065 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force with advanced education in South Korea?
- Labor force with advanced education in South Korea was 74.7% in 2025, according to Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest labor force with advanced education recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 74.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest labor force with advanced education recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.7% in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for labor force with advanced education?
- South Korea ranks 88th out of 125 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force with advanced education rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Labor force with advanced education (% of total working-age population with advanced education). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The ratio of the labor force with advanced education to the working-age population with advanced education. Advanced education comprises short-cycle tertiary education, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent education level, a master’s degree or equivalent education level, or doctoral degree or equivalent education level according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).