Korea, Rep.: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Korea, Rep.'s secondary education, general pupils fell 4.9% on 2016 (from 2.92 million to 2.78 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −1% and a typical year strayed about 2.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 14.2% in 1972 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.3% in 2015. 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 downward, about 79,466 a year. A straight line explains 84% 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.

How it compares

In 2017, Korea, Rep. had the 16th highest value of the 69 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

• Argentina — 12th of 69: 4.61 million
• United Kingdom — 13th of 69: 4.17 million
• Italy — 14th of 69: 3.04 million
• Spain — 16th of 69: 2.71 million
• Canada — 17th of 69: 2.52 million
• Venezuela, RB — 18th of 69: 2.26 million

What this measures

Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.

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

All 47 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Australia — 1.68 million (2017)
• Brunei Darussalam — 38,822 (2018)
• Cambodia — 955,656 (2018)
• China — 68.39 million (2018)
• Fiji — 92,262 (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 341,591 (2018)
• Indonesia — 19.99 million (2018)
• Kiribati — 9,548 (2017)
• Lao PDR — 671,064 (2018)
• Macao SAR, China — 25,672 (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

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Questions people ask

What is Korea, Rep.'s secondary education, general pupils?

2.78 million in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 70.02% from 1.63 million in 1971 (1.16% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 4.1 million in 1987 and the lowest 1.63 million in 1971.

How does Korea, Rep. rank?

16th highest of 69 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in secondary education, general pupils unusual for Korea, Rep.?

In 2017, Korea, Rep.'s secondary education, general pupils fell 4.9% on 2016 (from 2.92 million to 2.78 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −1% and a typical year strayed about 2.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.GC, 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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