School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea

South Korea: School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes was 2.81 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)
2.81 years
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
33rd
of 191 countries
All-time high
2.9 years
in 2016
All-time low
0.0247 years
in 1971
Years of data
32
1971–2018

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea, 1971–2018

01231971199420181971: 0.025 years1972: 0.025 years1973: 0.025 years1974: 0.029 years1975: 0.031 years1976: 0.036 years1977: 0.042 years1978: 0.047 years1979: 0.053 years1980: 0.065 years1981: 0.077 years1982: 0.186 years1983: 0.212 years1984: 0.268 years1985: 0.335 years1986: 0.416 years1987: 0.466 years1988: 0.518 years1989: 0.531 years1990: 0.555 years1991: 0.585 years1992: 0.639 years1993: 0.724 years1994: 0.793 years1995: 0.862 years1996: 0.865 years2013: 2.8 years2014: 2.8 years2015: 2.8 years2016: 2.9 years2017: 2.8 years2018: 2.8 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2018, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea stood at 2.81 years.

That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea peaked at 2.9 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.0247 years, in 1971.

That places South Korea 33rd out of 191 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years) in South Korea, 1971 to 2018.
Year years Change
1971 0.0247 years
1972 0.0248 years +0.2%
1973 0.0252 years +1.6%
1974 0.0285 years +13.3%
1975 0.0314 years +10.2%
1976 0.0362 years +15.1%
1977 0.0417 years +15.4%
1978 0.0467 years +11.9%
1979 0.0531 years +13.8%
1980 0.0653 years +22.8%
1981 0.0774 years +18.7%
1982 0.1857 years +139.8%
1983 0.2116 years +14.0%
1984 0.2677 years +26.5%
1985 0.335 years +25.2%
1986 0.4161 years +24.2%
1987 0.4662 years +12.0%
1988 0.5183 years +11.2%
1989 0.5311 years +2.5%
1990 0.5545 years +4.4%
1991 0.5854 years +5.6%
1992 0.6395 years +9.2%
1993 0.7241 years +13.2%
1994 0.7926 years +9.5%
1995 0.8618 years +8.7%
1996 0.865 years +0.4%
2013 2.79 years +222.2%
2014 2.78 years -0.2%
2015 2.82 years +1.4%
2016 2.9 years +2.8%
2017 2.85 years -1.7%
2018 2.81 years -1.5%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 2.81 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.26 years, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 2.81 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.86 years, 1.5× the median. (30 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2013 +222.2% 0.865 years 2.79 years
1982 +139.8% 0.0774 years 0.1857 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.0347 years 0.0247 years 0.0531 years 9
1980s 0.3074 years 0.0653 years 0.5311 years 10
1990s 0.7176 years 0.5545 years 0.865 years 7
2010s 2.82 years 2.78 years 2.9 years 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 30 Uruguay 2.85 years compare
  2. 31 San Marino 2.83 years compare
  3. 32 Italy 2.81 years compare
  4. 34 Slovenia 2.77 years compare
  5. 35 Croatia 2.77 years compare
  6. 36 Luxembourg 2.76 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea?
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea was 2.81 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 2.9 years in 2016.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0247 years in 1971.
How does South Korea rank for school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes?
South Korea ranks 33rd out of 191 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-pre-primary-both-sexes-years/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
236 places, 7,887 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.