Korea South Index

Korea South People - 2021

SOURCE: 2021 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

Nationality

noun: Korean(s)

adjective: Korean

Korean, English (widely taught in elementary, junior high, and high school)

printed major-language sample:
월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Protestant 19.7%, Buddhist 15.5%, Catholic 7.9%, none 56.9% (2015 est.)

note: many people also carry on at least some Confucian traditions and practices

Age structure

0-14 years: 12.02% (male 3,191,584/female 3,025,029)

15-24 years: 10.75% (male 2,900,013/female 2,658,057)

25-54 years: 44.83% (male 12,106,860/female 11,077,642)

55-64 years: 15.66% (male 3,958,718/female 4,142,322)

65 years and over: 16.74% (male 3,766,138/female 4,888,799) (2021 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 39.5

youth dependency ratio: 17.5

elderly dependency ratio: 22

potential support ratio: 4.5 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 43.2 years

male: 41.6 years

female: 45 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

0.26% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

6.89 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

6.96 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution

with approximately 70% of the country considered mountainous, the country's population is primarily concentrated in the lowland areas, where density is quite high; Gyeonggi Province in the northwest, which surrounds the capital of Seoul and contains the port of Incheon, is the most densely populated province; Gangwon in the northeast is the least populated

Urbanization

urban population: 81.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.31% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

9.968 million SEOUL (capital), 3.466 million Busan, 2.818 million Incheon, 2.191 million Daegu (Taegu), 1.569 million Daejon (Taejon), 1.524 million Gwangju (Kwangju) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.08 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

32.2 years (2019 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

11 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 2.91 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 3.12 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 2.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 82.78 years

male: 79.66 years

female: 86.06 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.09 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

82.3% (2018)

note: percent of women aged 20-49

Drinking water source

improved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

7.6% (2018)

Physicians density

2.36 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density

12.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

N/A

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

N/A

HIV/AIDS - deaths

N/A

Major infectious diseases

respiratory diseases: Covid-19 (see note) (2020)

note: a novel coronavirus is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in South Korea; as of 19 July 2021, South Korea has reported a total of 180,481 cases of COVID-19 or 352.03 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 4.02 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 31.78% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

4.7% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

0.7% (2010)

Education expenditures

4.3% of GDP (2016)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2019)

total population: 98% (2019)

male: 99.2%

female: 96.6%

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 17 years

male: 17 years

female: 16 years (2018)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 10.3%

male: 11%

female: 9.7% (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Korea South on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea South 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea South 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.