Korean workers lose cognitive skills faster than OECD counterparts: KDI

Home > Business > Economy

Korean workers lose cognitive skills faster than OECD counterparts: KDI

Published: 16 Jan. 2026, 07:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kim Min-sub, a researcher at the Korea Development Institute, talks about the decline in Korean workers' cognitive abilities at a briefing at the government complex in Sejong on Jan. 14, 2026. [YONHAP]

Korean workers lose cognitive skills faster with age than their counterparts in most other advanced economies, a trend that could weigh on productivity as the population shrinks, said a state-backed think tank on Wednesday.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said its findings were based on data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), a survey conducted every 10 years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In the 2011–2012 round of the survey, Korean workers aged 25 to 29 ranked near the top among 17 OECD countries, placing sixth in numeracy (working with numbers) and fourth in literacy. By the 2022–2023 survey, Korea had fallen to eighth place in both categories, slipping to around the OECD average.

Age-related declines in cognitive skills were far sharper in Korea than in other countries. In the latest survey, scores for numeracy among workers aged 40 to 44 were 14 points lower than those of workers in their mid- to late 20s, while literacy scores were 19 points lower. The average declines across the OECD were 4 points in numeracy and 7 points in literacy.

The gap widened further among older workers. Koreans aged 60 to 65 scored 40 points lower in numeracy and 46 points lower in literacy than younger workers, compared to OECD averages of 25 points and 28 points.

“This is deeply concerning given the need to expand economic participation among older workers and raise labor productivity as Korea's population declines,” the KDI's report said.

Older people wait in line for food at a soup kitchen in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 12, 2025. [NEWS1]

The institute pointed to Korea’s wage structure as a key factor behind the trend, arguing that it provides weak incentives for workers to invest in skills development.

According to the KDI's analysis, a one-standard-deviation increase in numeracy or literacy skills translated into a wage gain of only 2 to 3 percent in Korea, well below the gains seen in the United States at about 8 percent and Japan at 5 to 6 percent.

By contrast, wages in Korea rose by around 2 percent for each additional year of tenure, nearly three times the OECD average of 0.7 percent.

“When compensation for cognitive skills is low and wages continue to rise simply with tenure, workers have little incentive to invest in self-development,” Kim Min-sub, a research fellow at KDI’s fiscal and social policy division, said at a briefing.

“Korea needs to introduce wage systems such as job-based pay and performance-based pay that reward improvements in skills and performance,” he said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY NAM SOO-HYOUN [[email protected]]