Korea South People - 2024

Population

51,966,948 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Korean(s)

adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups

homogeneous

Languages

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

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

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Korean audio sample:

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: 11.53% (male 3,072,352/female 2,916,984)

15-64 years: 70.1% (male 18,788,714/female 17,639,714)

65 years and over: 18.38% (2023 est.) (male 4,196,789/female 5,352,395)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 39.9

youth dependency ratio: 16.6

elderly dependency ratio: 23.3

potential support ratio: 4.3 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 45 years (2023 est.)

male: 43.5 years

female: 46.8 years

Population growth rate

0.23% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

2.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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: 81.5% of total population (2023)

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

Major urban areas - population

9.988 million SEOUL (capital), 3.472 million Busan, 2.849 million Incheon, 2.181 million Daegu (Taegu), 1.577 million Daejon (Taejon), 1.529 million Gwangju (Kwangju) (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

32.2 years (2019 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 2.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 83.2 years (2023 est.)

male: 80.1 years

female: 86.4 years

Total fertility rate

1.11 children born/woman (2023 est.)

note: some sources estimate the TFR to be as low as 0.78

Gross reproduction rate

0.54 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

82.3% (2018)

note: percent of women aged 20-49

Drinking water source

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 99.9% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

8.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

2.48 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density

12.4 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 99.9% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

4.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 7.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 1.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 5.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 20.8% (2020 est.)

male: 35.7% (2020 est.)

female: 5.9% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

0.9% (2019/21) NA

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

52.9% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

4.7% of GDP (2019 est.)

Literacy

total population: NA

male: NA

female: NA

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 17 years

male: 17 years

female: 16 years (2020)