Seoul Student Population Decreased by 20,000 Compared to Last Year... 'Number of Classes' Also Declined

Kindergarten Enrollment Drops by 5.6%P
Average Class Size in Elementary, Middle, and High Schools is 23.3 Students
Education Office "Striving to Improve Conditions"

The number of students in kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in the Seoul area has decreased, leading to a reduction in the total number of classes. In particular, the decline in the number of kindergarten students was the most significant.

According to the "2023 Academic Year Class Formation Results" announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 27th, the total number of students in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools was 857,223, which is 23,121 fewer than last year (880,344). Among them, the number of students in elementary, middle, and high schools was 786,880, down by 19,460 from last year (806,340).

The number of kindergarten students was 62,797, a decrease of 3,727 compared to the previous year. Elementary schools had 381,508 students, down by 12,057. Middle schools had 199,073 students, a decrease of 6,314, and high schools had 206,299 students, down by 1,089. Among these, the decrease rate in kindergartens (5.6 percentage points) was the largest.

Accordingly, the number of classes also showed a declining trend. The total number of classes in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools was 39,875, which is 816 fewer than last year (40,691). Looking only at elementary, middle, and high schools, the number of classes was 35,203, down by 719 from last year (35,922).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Among these, the number of kindergarten classes was 3,612, a decrease of 92 classes. Elementary schools had 17,885 classes, down by 482, middle schools had 8,359 classes, a decrease of 140, and high schools had 8,959 classes, down by 97. The largest decrease rate was in elementary schools (2.6 percentage points).

The average number of students per class in elementary, middle, and high schools was 23.3, a decrease of 0.4 from last year (23.7). Elementary schools remained the same at 22.4 students per class. Middle schools had 24.8 students per class, down by 0.3, while high schools had 23.8 students per class, an increase of 0.2. The increase in the number of students per class in high schools is believed to be influenced by the enrollment of the "Golden Pig Year (born in 2007)" cohort currently in the first year of high school.

Regarding this survey, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "We plan to continue efforts to improve educational conditions by comprehensively considering future student number trends, regional and school-specific conditions, appropriate class size management, reducing the number of students per class, and promoting the development of appropriately sized schools."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and 11 education support offices conducted the survey annually on March 10, targeting kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.