NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea
Korea: NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training was 15.34 in 2025. ▬ Flat
NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea, 2000–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea stood at 15.34.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and down 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea peaked at 18.15 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 14.82, in 2014.
Korea ranks 67th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17.47 | — |
| 2001 | 17.35 | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 16.02 | -7.7% |
| 2003 | 16.98 | +6.0% |
| 2004 | 16.88 | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 16.48 | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 16.13 | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 15.33 | -5.0% |
| 2008 | 15.33 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16.02 | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 15.76 | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 15.47 | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 15.32 | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 15.11 | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 14.82 | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 15.98 | +7.8% |
| 2016 | 16.09 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 16.23 | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 16.34 | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 16.53 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 18.15 | +9.8% |
| 2021 | 17.47 | -3.7% |
| 2022 | 15.95 | -8.7% |
| 2023 | 15.27 | -4.2% |
| 2024 | 15.14 | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 15.34 | +1.3% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 15.34 is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.85, 1.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Korea's 15.34 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 16.91, 91% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.4 | 15.33 | 17.47 | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.77 | 14.82 | 16.53 | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.22 | 15.14 | 18.15 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More work & labour data for 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 neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea?
- Neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Korea was 15.34 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 18.15 in 2020.
- What is the lowest neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.82 in 2014.
- How does Korea rank for neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training?
- Korea ranks 67th out of 113 countries with data for 2025.
- Is neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) (15-29). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This indicator refers to the proportion of youth who are not in employment and not in education or training. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For statistical purposes, youth are defined as persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.