Korea, Rep. — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for Korea, Rep., 1970–2022.
Education spending for Korea, Rep. was 5.41% in 2022, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 34 years, from 1970 to 2022. The highest recorded value was 6.21% in 1982. The lowest was 2.06% in 1975 (about 2.6× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.91% per year.
Korea, Rep. ranks 37 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 22%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 4.25%, so Korea, Rep. sits above it. It peaked in 1982 and has fallen 13% since. Over the last decade (2015–2022) the figure moved up 27%. Within East Asia & Pacific it ranks 6 of 25 economies; Tonga (5.31%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 118% in 1982. That is 22% above this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
Doubling roughly every 77 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 19th of 31 in 1970 → 41st of 63 in 1980 → 33rd of 50 in 1990 → 70th of 157 in 2020 → 31st of 150 in 2022.
Key figures
Full history — 1970 to 2022
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.41% | +0.9 pp |
| 2021 | 4.56% | +0.0 pp |
| 2020 | 4.53% | +0.1 pp |
| 2019 | 4.42% | +0.2 pp |
| 2018 | 4.22% | +0.1 pp |
| 2017 | 4.11% | -0.0 pp |
| 2016 | 4.12% | -0.1 pp |
| 2015 | 4.24% | +1.0 pp |
| 1999 | 3.25% | +0.0 pp |
| 1998 | 3.25% | +0.4 pp |
| 1995 | 2.84% | -0.1 pp |
| 1994 | 2.92% | -0.7 pp |
| 1993 | 3.58% | +0.1 pp |
| 1992 | 3.47% | +0.1 pp |
| 1991 | 3.38% | +0.4 pp |
| 1990 | 2.95% | -0.0 pp |
| 1989 | 2.97% | +0.3 pp |
| 1988 | 2.67% | -0.6 pp |
| 1987 | 3.28% | -0.3 pp |
| 1986 | 3.54% | -0.4 pp |
| 1985 | 3.89% | -0.0 pp |
| 1984 | 3.92% | -0.3 pp |
| 1983 | 4.23% | -2.0 pp |
| 1982 | 6.21% | +3.4 pp |
| 1981 | 2.85% | -0.6 pp |
| 1980 | 3.4% | +0.4 pp |
| 1979 | 2.97% | +0.6 pp |
| 1977 | 2.39% | -0.3 pp |
| 1976 | 2.71% | +0.7 pp |
| 1975 | 2.06% | -0.6 pp |
| 1973 | 2.64% | -0.5 pp |
| 1972 | 3.18% | -0.5 pp |
| 1971 | 3.7% | +0.3 pp |
| 1970 | 3.38% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Korea, Rep.’s Education spending in 1971?
3.7% (1971). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in % of GDP, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Korea, Rep.’s Education spending growing or shrinking?
Between 1970 and 2022 the series was growing overall: +59.8% in total — about 0.9% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2022: 5.41%; 2021: 4.56%; 2020: 4.53%; 2019: 4.42%; 2018: 4.22%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS — Government Education Spending (% of GDP). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.