🇰🇷What's the population of South Korea?

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Population

Area

Demographics

Immigrants

Share of population born abroad

3.5%

1.8M people · 2024

Country of birth

• China
  41.8% · 756.7K
• Vietnam
  14.4% · 260.6K
• Thailand
  11.0% · 199.9K
• Uzbekistan
  3.3% · 59.4K
• United States
  2.9% · 53.2K
• Other countries
  16.0% · 289.2K
• Unknown
  10.6% · 192.5K

• The UN counts an international migrant as anyone living outside the country they were born in — including students, workers, spouses and people who have since naturalized.
• Includes refugees and asylum seekers reported by UNHCR.
• "Unknown" is the number the UN could not assign to a country of origin.

Economy

Nominal GDP

$1,872,374,961,553

Currency

KRW

Monthly temperature & rainfall

Best time to visit South Korea tends to be around July, when average highs sit near 32.3°C.

Religion

• Unaffiliated 56.1%
• Christianity 27.6%
• Buddhism 15.5%
• Other 0.8%

Language

Official language(s)

ko

English proficiency

Moderate

Travel essentials

Time zone

Asia/Seoul

Electricity

220V · C/F

Driving side

Right

Calling code

+82

Emergency number

112

Compare South Korea with

Reports featuring South Korea

• Reykjavík Has a Warmer January Than Seoul: Why Latitude Doesn't Decide WinterOf the 24 capitals in this dataset that sit north of Seoul, 22 are warmer in January. Reykjavík at 64°N averages -1.5°C; Seoul, 26.6 degrees closer to the equator, averages -1.9°C.
• Why 'The Netherlands Is Larger Than Switzerland' Is True: Scoring a Game Show's Proposition Race With Real DataIn the Korean survival show The Community 2, contestants collect word cards to build true comparative sentences. Run the same rules across 24 countries and 13 metrics and only 8,742 of the 70,860 possible sentences — 12.3% — turn out to be true.
• The Country Most Like South Korea on Paper Ranks Last on Income: The Two Koreas, ComparedOf the 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks, only North Korea matches South Korea on climate, plugs, driving side, time zone, and language. Yet income per person is $36,227 in the South and an estimated $1,387 in the North — a 26-fold gap. And the North is actually 1.2 times larger.
• 3.5% of People in South Korea Were Born Abroad — In 1990 It Was 0.04%In 1990, 18,499 people living in South Korea had been born abroad — 0.04% of the population. In 2024 it is 1.81 million, or 3.5%, just under the world average of 3.7%. Sort the same data by head count instead of share and an entirely different list of countries appears.
• South Korea's Fertility Rate Is 0.72 — By 2050 It Will Be Older Than JapanSouth Korea's 2023 fertility rate was 0.72 births per woman — the lowest of the 53 countries this site tracks. UN population projections put its 65-and-over share at 39.7% by 2050, overtaking Japan (37.5%), the country usually cited as the world's oldest.
• Why South Korea Ranks Among the World's Densest Countries: SeoulAmong the 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks, South Korea ranks 2nd in population density at 516 people per km². The real driver is Seoul alone — its density of 15,828/km² almost exactly matches Tokyo's 23 wards, and trails cities like Manila.
• 13 Plug Standards, 53 Countries — Only 17 Match South Korea's ExactlyWe checked the plug type and voltage for all 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks. There are 13 distinct standards — only 17 match South Korea's C/F, 220V setup exactly, and 16 need a completely different adapter.
• Same Income, a 17-Rank Gap: Where South Korea and Japan Actually DivergeSouth Korea's GDP per capita ($36,227) is actually $276 higher than Japan's ($35,951). Yet on livability rankings, Japan sits 2nd out of 87 countries while South Korea sits 19th. Here's what the income numbers don't explain.
• Adjusted for PPP: Iceland Drops 16%, Egypt Jumps 7.6×Recalculating GDP per capita in purchasing-power-parity (PPP) terms reshuffles the rankings once more. Iceland's figure drops 16%; Egypt's jumps 7.6×. The same phrase, 'income per person,' measures something different in each country.
• The World's 2nd-Biggest Economy Ranks 33rd Per Capita — Why 'Big Economy' Isn't 'Expensive Travel'Among the 53 countries WhatsThePop tracks, China has the 2nd-largest total economy but ranks 33rd per capita — just 38% of South Korea's figure. Economic size and what travelers actually pay are answers to different questions.
• 20 Countries Bigger Than South Korea — And Only 2 SmallerOf the 22 countries WhatsThePop tracks, only the Netherlands and Switzerland are smaller than South Korea (100,210 km²). Here's how the other 20 stack up, grouped by scale.

Sources & data

• population: World Bank Open Data (2026-08)
• area: world-countries (Wikidata-derived) (2026-08)
• gdp_nominal_usd: World Bank Open Data (2026-08)
• gdp_per_capita_usd: World Bank Open Data (2026-08)
• religions: Manual curation (Pew Research) (2026-08)
• industries: Manual curation (CIA World Factbook) (2026-08)
• climate: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (2026-08)
• happiness_index: World Happiness Report 2025 (2026-07)
• livability_rank: U.S. News & World Report — Best Countries 2024 (2026-07)
• migrants: UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024 (2026-09)

FAQ

What is the population of South Korea?

South Korea — 51.7M (2025)

How big is South Korea?

100,210 km²

What is the capital of South Korea?

Seoul

What is the GDP per capita of South Korea?

$36,227

What language is spoken in South Korea?

ko