A shrinking school-age population is leading to more South Korean schools with small school entry and graduate numbers.
In the 2030 academic year, 2,026 schools (elementary, middle and high) in South Korea will have 10 or fewer students graduating. This is based on projections from this year, where 1,863 schools reported having 10 or fewer graduates.
Key data
- Elementary schools accounted for the majority of these small class numbers – nearly 79% (1,469 of 1,863 schools) with 10 or fewer graduates.
- 2,196 schools had 10 or fewer new students entering school, which is projected to reach 2,257 schools by 2030.
- 298,178 students entered first grade this year, which is a drop of 25.8% since 2023 (401,752 students).
- The total number of students enrolled in elementary, middle and high schools has slipped below 5 billion.
- School closures are accelerating, with 153 closing between 2021 and 2025 – 51 of those were last year alone.
Why are there so many schools with such small numbers? A declining school-age population (defined by the South Korean Government as people between 6 and 21-years-old). The Korean Statistical Information Service shared that in 1980 there were 14.38 million school-aged people, compared with the projection of 6.8 million this year. Additionally, in South Korea 21% of the population are 65 are older, making them a ‘super-aged’ society according to UN criteria.
References
- Korea Herald – Over 2,000 schools will have 10 or fewer graduates by 2030 (Accessed: 23rd February 2026)
- Korea JooAng Daily – Number of schools graduating fewer than 10 students to exceed 2,000 by 2030, data shows (Accessed: 23rd February 2026)
- Ministry of Health, Singapore – Ageing in the Community (Accessed: 23rd February 2026)
