Pupil-teacher ratio, primary in South Korea
South Korea: Pupil-teacher ratio, primary was 16.29 in 2017. ▼ Falling
Pupil-teacher ratio, primary in South Korea, 1971–2017
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Analysis
South Korea recorded 16.29 for pupil-teacher ratio, primary in 2017. That is the lowest value across all 47 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 36.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pupil-teacher ratio, primary in South Korea peaked at 56.87 in 1971 and was at its lowest, 16.29, in 2017.
That places South Korea 124th out of 199 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 52.48 | 48.63 | 56.87 | 9 |
| 1980s | 41.58 | 36.37 | 48.09 | 10 |
| 1990s | 32.25 | 28.39 | 36.28 | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.11 | 22.38 | 32.12 | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.54 | 16.29 | 20.92 | 8 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More education data for South Korea
- Population ages 15-64 69.5% (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 10.2% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 100.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 173,133 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 100.8% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 101.0% (2024)
- Labor force, total 29.87 million (2025)
- Labor force, female 44.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is pupil-teacher ratio, primary in South Korea?
- Pupil-teacher ratio, primary in South Korea was 16.29 in 2017, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest pupil-teacher ratio, primary recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 56.87 in 1971.
- What is the lowest pupil-teacher ratio, primary recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.29 in 2017.
- How does South Korea rank for pupil-teacher ratio, primary?
- South Korea ranks 124th out of 199 countries with data for 2017.
- Is pupil-teacher ratio, primary rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Pupil-teacher ratio, primary. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the average number of pupils per teacher in primary school.