Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
Last updated August 4, 2026
Composite GEFRI Score
Limited relative strength in Access & Parity, with deep gaps in Governance
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. shows severely limited readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (30th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms.
- Global percentile
- 30th
- Global rank
- #125
- Regional rank
- #20
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Korea, Dem. People's Rep. faces substantial readiness constraints across core dimensions. Its weakest results are in Human Capital (54, 28th percentile), GEFRI Composite (44, 30th percentile), Infrastructure (43, 13th percentile) and Governance (12, 5th percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.
Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. Electricity access remains uneven, limiting the baseline for digital expansion.
A large research workforce accelerates experimentation, technology adoption, and applied innovation. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
Many indicators are imputed, so the profile should be treated as a limited signal rather than a complete measurement.
Key insights
Falls below many peers at the 30th percentile.
Places 125th worldwide.
Holds a regional position of 20th within East Asia & Pacific.
Scores range from Access & Parity (64.8) to Governance (11.7), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Trails regional peers most clearly in Governance.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
Composite GEFRI Score
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | Singapore | 87.75 |
| 8 | 2 | Korea, Rep. | 87.61 |
| 9 | 3 | Australia | 87.58 |
| 12 | 4 | Japan | 86.42 |
| 14 | 5 | New Zealand | 86.25 |
| 16 | 6 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 85.13 |
| — | — | PalauMicrostate | 73.62 |
| — | — | NauruMicrostate | 72.35 |
| 51 | 7 | Thailand | 71.65 |
| 52 | 8 | Brunei Darussalam | 71.24 |
| — | — | GuamMicrostate | 70.43 |
| 56 | 9 | China | 70.26 |
| — | — | New CaledoniaMicrostate | 69.53 |
| — | — | American SamoaMicrostate | 69.29 |
| 59 | 10 | Malaysia | 69.27 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate | 69.27 |
| 65 | 11 | Macao SAR, China | 68.91 |
| 66 | 12 | Fiji | 68.84 |
| 70 | 13 | Mongolia | 68.44 |
| — | — | French PolynesiaMicrostate | 67.53 |
| 74 | 14 | Indonesia | 67.24 |
| 75 | 15 | Viet Nam | 67.00 |
| — | — | TongaMicrostate | 62.06 |
| — | — | SamoaMicrostate | 61.69 |
| 91 | 16 | Philippines | 60.80 |
| — | — | TuvaluFCSMicrostate | 59.38 |
| — | — | Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate | 56.13 |
| 109 | 17 | Vanuatu | 54.76 |
| — | — | KiribatiFCSMicrostate | 49.99 |
| 118 | 18 | Timor-LesteFCS | 47.72 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate | 47.06 |
| 124 | 19 | Cambodia | 44.53 |
| 125 | 20 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 44.29 |
| 135 | 21 | Solomon IslandsFCS | 40.40 |
| 142 | 22 | MyanmarFCS | 37.14 |
| 143 | 23 | Lao PDR | 36.90 |
| 156 | 24 | Papua New GuineaFCS | 31.85 |