Primary education, duration in North Korea
North Korea: Primary education, duration was 5 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Primary education, duration in North Korea, 1970–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, primary education, duration in North Korea stood at 5 years. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary education, duration in North Korea peaked at 5 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 1970.
North Korea ranks 154th of 210 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.6 years | 4 years | 5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5 years | 5 years | 5 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 154 Albania 5 years compare
- 154 Algeria 5 years compare
- 154 Bangladesh 5 years compare
- 154 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 years compare
- 154 Brazil 5 years compare
- 154 Colombia 5 years compare
- 154 Comoros 5 years compare
- 154 Czechia 5 years compare
- 154 Djibouti 5 years compare
- 154 Eritrea 5 years compare
- 154 France 5 years compare
- 154 French Polynesia 5 years compare
- 154 Gabon 5 years compare
- 154 India 5 years compare
- 154 Italy 5 years compare
- 154 Kuwait 5 years compare
- 154 Laos 5 years compare
- 154 Liechtenstein 5 years compare
- 154 Madagascar 5 years compare
- 154 Monaco 5 years compare
- 154 Mongolia 5 years compare
- 154 Montenegro 5 years compare
- 154 Myanmar 5 years compare
- 154 Nepal 5 years compare
- 154 New Caledonia 5 years compare
- 154 North Macedonia 5 years compare
- 154 Pakistan 5 years compare
- 154 Romania 5 years compare
- 154 San Marino 5 years compare
- 154 Sri Lanka 5 years compare
- 154 Vietnam 5 years compare
More education data for North Korea
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.9% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.4% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Labor force, female 48.2% (2025)
- Labor force, total 17.70 million (2025)
- Probability of dying among adolescents ages 15-19 years 3.9 per 1,000 (2024)
- Probability of dying among children ages 5-9 years 2 per 1,000 (2024)
- Probability of dying among adolescents ages 10-14 years 1.8 per 1,000 (2024)
- Probability of dying among youth ages 20-24 years 5 per 1,000 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary education, duration in North Korea?
- Primary education, duration in North Korea was 5 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest primary education, duration recorded in North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 5 years in 2014.
- What is the lowest primary education, duration recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 1970.
- How does North Korea rank for primary education, duration?
- North Korea ranks 154th out of 210 countries with data for 2025.
- Is primary education, duration rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Primary education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Primary duration refers to the number of grades (years) in primary school.