The middle school entrance rate in Korea has reached a perfect 100 percent since the late 1980s, and the high school entrance rate has been close to 100 percent since the mid-1990s. Accordingly, the number of schools has been consistently increasing, though a large number of elementary schools were closed in areas of popu- lation decrease after the 1990s. Kindergarten enrollment has sig- ni cantly increased since the 1980s as kindergarten education has become more widely available. On the other hand, the total number of students differs by age group, with the number of elementary students decreasing steadily due to decreasing fertility rates. A declining fertility rate has also resulted in a decrease in the middle and high school populations since the late 1980s. As a bene t, an increase in teacher hires has reduced the number of students per teacher. Changes in the school age population varies greatly by region. Gyeonggi-do has experienced an increase in its school age population, while other regions show large decreases from 2000 to 2014.