Korea, Rep.: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Korea, Rep.'s primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2016 (from 48.32% to 48.37%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.2 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.41 percentage points in 1997. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.08 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 48.59% for 2020. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2015 to 2017 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.04%, against 0.24% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2017, Korea, Rep. had the 55th highest value of the 68 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Korea, Rep. in the 2017 ranking

• Uruguay — 51st of 68: 48.45%
• Chile — 52nd of 68: 48.4%
• Panama — 53rd of 68: 48.38%
• North Macedonia — 55th of 68: 48.31%
• Venezuela, RB — 56th of 68: 48.28%
• Tajikistan — 57th of 68: 48.28%

What this measures

Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at primary level include enrollments in public and private schools.

Limitations: The percentage of female enrollment is limited in assessing gender parity, because it's affected by the gender composition of population. Ratio of female to male in enrollment rate provides a population adjusted measure of gender parity.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 47 values

Primary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Australia — 48.67% (2017)
• Brunei Darussalam — 48.57% (2018)
• Cambodia — 48.14% (2018)
• China — 46.48% (2018)
• Fiji — 48.17% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 47.8% (2018)
• Indonesia — 47.77% (2018)
• Kiribati — 50.81% (2017)
• Lao PDR — 48.11% (2018)
• Macao SAR, China — 48.18% (2018)
• Malaysia

More education data for Korea, Rep.

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.51 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 173,133 (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 76.66% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 2.66 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 233,046 (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers, female — 151,467 (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Korea, Rep.'s primary education, pupils (% female)?

48.37% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 0.46 percentage points from 47.91% in 1971. The highest value was 48.56% in 1990 and the lowest 46.88% in 2001.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.ENRL.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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