In 2025, the total population of South Korea is projected to be around 51.68 million. In thirty years, the number of people aged 15 to 64 is estimated to decrease by one-third, while the number of older adults is anticipated to more than double. Additionally, the overall population is expected to decline by around six million people by that time. Declining birth rate Several factors are contributing to the expected demographic changes in South Korea. Firstly, the birth rate has been declining for years. As of 2024, South Korea had the lowest fertility rate in the world. This trend continues despite the efforts of successive governments to encourage young people to have children. An increasing number of South Korean women are prioritizing their careers, often choosing to focus on work rather than starting a family at a young age. While the employment rate for South Korean women is still lower than that of men, it has steadily risen over the past decade. Increase in life expectancy Secondly, life expectancy in South Korea has steadily increased due to improved living standards and healthcare. The average life expectancy at birth for South Koreans has risen from less than 75 years to almost 83 years over the past twenty years. As a result, the proportion of people aged 65 and older has grown from less than 11 percent to around 18 percent in the last decade.

In 2024, the birth rate in South Korea lay at 0.75 births per woman. The country has long been struggling with a declining birth rate, first dropping below one birth per woman in 2018.

In 2025, South Korea's male population is projected to reach about 25.84 million, while the female population is estimated at 25.85 million. In the long term, South Korea's population is expected to decline, reaching about 36.22 million in 2072.

In 2023, the number of births in South Korea stood at 230,028, recording the lowest figure during the given period. Around two decades earlier, this number was twice as high. Declining fertility in South Korea A phenomenon that most East Asian countries and territories grapple with is a stark decline in fertility rates. This is especially evident in South Korea, which has the lowest fertility rate in the world, far below the 2.1 children per woman threshold that represents replacement fertility. In response to the expected economic consequences of a declining population, South Korea has implemented various initiatives to encourage married couples to have children. Factors contributing to low birth rates in South Korea One major element is the societal change in attitudes toward childbirth. In a survey, half of South Korean respondents asserted that marriages can be happy without children, and a sizeable share also stated that having children was dependent on economic factors. In addition, an increasing number of South Koreans are choosing not to get married – In 2023, South Korea recorded one of the lowest numbers of marriages in its history. Furthermore, there has been a growing trend among South Korean women to prioritize their financial independence and career continuity over traditional childbearing expectations.

In 1900, the crude birth rate in South Korea was just under 42 births for every thousand people, meaning that approximately 4.2 percent of the population was born in that year. The crude birth rate would rise briefly in the 1930s, as Japanese investment would lead to economic growth on the peninsula, but would fall sharply in the 1940s, as the Second World War and the Korean War would result in two decades of significant socio-economic turmoil. While the crude birth rate would recover quickly after the end of the Korean War in 1953, a sharp decline in fertility beginning in the 1960s would see a corresponding fall in the crude birth rate lasting until the late 1980s, as South Korea would go through a rapid demographic transition and modernization. While the crude birth rate would briefly rise in the early 1990s, partially due to governmental restrictions on sex-selective abortion; the rate of decline would slow going into the 21st century. As a result, in 2020, it is estimated that South Korea has a birth rate of seven births for every thousand people, which is one of the lowest birth rates in the world.

Chart and table of North Korea population from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Korea Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data was reported at 1.172 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.239 Ratio for 2015. Korea Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data is updated yearly, averaging 1.656 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.095 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 1.076 Ratio in 2005. Korea Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Korea – Table KR.World Bank: Health Statistics. Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average; Relevance to gender indicator: it can indicate the status of women within households and a woman’s decision about the number and spacing of children.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Working-Age Population Total: From 15 to 64 Years for Korea (LFWA64TTKRM647N) from Jun 1999 to Jan 2025 about working-age, Korea, 15 to 64 years, and population.

North Korea KP: Population: Male: Ages 55-59: % of Male Population data was reported at 6.106 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.307 % for 2016. North Korea KP: Population: Male: Ages 55-59: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 2.879 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.307 % in 2016 and a record low of 2.134 % in 1978. North Korea KP: Population: Male: Ages 55-59: % of Male Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s North Korea – Table KP.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Male population between the ages 55 to 59 as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;

In 1900, the fertility rate in the region of present-day South Korea was six children per woman, meaning that the average woman born in South Korea in that year could expect to have six children over the course of their reproductive years. This number began to fluctuate in the 1930s, when the Japanese administration (the Korean peninsula had been annexed by Japan in 1910) promoted fertility as part of the war effort, before fertility dropped below 5.2 births per woman in the aftermath of the war. It then increased above 6.3 in the 1950s due to the devastation and mass-displacement caused by the Korean War. As stability returned to the region, South Korea's fertility rate would fall sharply throughout the remainder of the century, as modernization, urbanization, and the implementation of family planning programs would see fertility fall to just over 1.5 children per woman by 1990.

Sex-selective abortion and gender ratios Abortion was illegal in South Korea between 1953 and 2020, although it was permitted in some cases from 1973 onward. Despite this, these laws were rarely enforced, and sex-selective abortion became widespread following advancements in ultrasound technology. In many Asian societies, it was often preferred to have male children as they were viewed as being better long-term providers for their parents and they would carry on the family name. In South Korea in the early 1990s, the practice of sex-selective abortion became so widespread that the gender ratio at birth was 114 males for every 100 females (reportedly as high as 125 in some cities), compared to the historical and natural average of approximately 105 males per 100 females. The government then prohibited doctors from revealing the gender of unborn babies to the parents in 1987, and introduced more severe penalties in 1994, in an attempt to revert this trend. The gender imbalance then reduced in the following decades, and has been at 106 males per 100 females since the 2010s (roughly the natural average). Abortion rights in South Korea were expanded in 2021.

Lowest in the world? Despite government initiatives aimed at increasing fertility, including financial incentives, South Korea's fertility rate has continued to fall in recent years, and today is at around half of replacement level. In 2020, it is estimated that the average woman born in South Korea will have just over one child over the course of their reproductive years. Some critics cite economic factors, such as high education and housing costs, for the reason that young couples are postponing marriage and having families; today, South Korea has the lowest adolescent fertility rate, and the lowest overall fertility rate in the Asia Pacific region. Due to the current trajectory of South Korea's fertility rate, in January 2021, it was announced that the South Korean population experienced a natural decline for the first time in it's history.

South Korea rural population for 2023 was 9,589,588, a 0.08% decline from 2022.

• South Korea rural population for 2022 was 9,597,146, a 0.26% decline from 2021.
• South Korea rural population for 2021 was 9,621,887, a 0.13% decline from 2020.
• South Korea rural population for 2020 was 9,634,283, a 0.22% increase from 2019.

Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.

The total population of South Korea was estimated to reach around 51.7 million in 2025. While South Korea's population has increased since the 1960s, it is expected to fall to about 36 million by 2072.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Daegu, South Korea metro area from 1950 to 2025. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Jeonju, South Korea metro area from 1950 to 2025. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.

South Korea urban population for 2023 was 42,123,031, a 0.11% increase from 2022.

• South Korea urban population for 2022 was 42,075,423, a 0.17% decline from 2021.
• South Korea urban population for 2021 was 42,147,652, a 0.13% decline from 2020.
• South Korea urban population for 2020 was 42,201,956, a 0.12% increase from 2019.

Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.

BackgroundAlthough previous studies have reported that frequent earphone use and lead exposure are risk factors for hearing loss, most of these studies were limited to small populations or animal experiments. Several studies that presented the joint effect of combined exposure of noise and heavy metal on hearing loss were also mainly conducted on occupational workers exposed to high concentration.ObjectivesWe investigated both the individual and joint effects of earphone use and environmental lead exposure on hearing loss in the Korean general population.MethodsWe analyzed data from 7,596 Koreans provided by the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) during the period 2010–2013. The pure-tone average (PTA) of hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz frequencies was computed, and hearing loss was defined as a PTA ≥ 25 dB in one or both ears.ResultsA dose-response relationship in hearing loss with earphone use time and blood lead level is observed after adjustment for confounding factors. With a 1-hour increase in earphone use time and 1 μg/dL increase in blood lead concentration, the odds of hearing loss increased by 1.19 and 1.43 times, respectively. For hearing loss, the additive and multiplicative effect of earphone use and blood lead level were not statistically significant.ConclusionsEarphone use and environmental lead exposure have an individual effect on hearing loss in the general population. However, the estimated joint effect of earphone use and lead exposure was not statistically significant.

South Korea crime rate per 100K population for 2021 was 0.52, a 12.32% decline from 2020.

• South Korea crime rate per 100K population for 2020 was 0.59, a 3.63% increase from 2019.
• South Korea crime rate per 100K population for 2019 was 0.57, a 4.11% decline from 2018.
• South Korea crime rate per 100K population for 2018 was 0.60, a 2.33% increase from 2017.

Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.

Seagrasses provide numerous ecosystem services for coastal and estuarine environments, such as nursery functions, erosion protection, pollution filtration, and carbon sequestration. Zostera marina (common name "eelgrass") is one of the seagrass bed-forming species distributed widely in the northern hemisphere, including the Korean Peninsula. Recently, however, there has been a drastic decline in the population size of Z. marina worldwide, including Korea. We examined the current population genetic status of this species on the southern coast of Korea by estimating the levels of genetic diversity and genetic structure of 10 geographic populations using eight nuclear microsatellite markers. The level of genetic diversity was found to be significantly lower for populations on Jeju Island [mean allelic richness (AR) = 1.92, clonal diversity (R) = 0.51], which is located approximately 155 km off the southernmost region of the Korean Peninsula, than for those in the South Sea (mean AR = 2.69, R = 0.82), which is on the southern coast of the mainland. South Korean eelgrass populations were substantially genetically divergent from one another (FST = 0.061-0.573), suggesting that limited contemporary gene flow has been taking place among populations. We also found weak but detectable temporal variation in genetic structure within a site over 10 years. In additional depth comparisons, statistically significant genetic differentiation was observed between shallow (or middle) and deep zones in two of three sites tested. Depleted genetic diversity, small effective population sizes (Ne) and limited connectivity for populations on Jeju Island indicate that these populations may be vulnerable to local extinction under changing environmental conditions, especially given that Jeju Island is one of the fastest warming regions around the world. Overall, our work will inform conservation and restoration efforts, including transplantation for eelgrass populations at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, for this ecologically important species.

Key information about South Korea Labour Force Participation Rate

• South Korea Labour Force Participation Rate increased to 63.7 % in Feb 2025, compared with 63.4 % in the previous month.
• South Korea Labour Force Participation Rate is updated monthly, available from Jun 1999 to Feb 2025, with an average rate of 62.4 % .
• The data reached the an all-time high of 65.4 % in May 2024 and a record low of 59.2 % in Jan 2011.
• South Korea Labour Force Participation Rate is reported by reported by Statistics Korea.
• In the latest reports, South Korea Population reached 51.8 million people in Dec 2024.
• Unemployment Rate of South Korea dropped to 2.7 % in Feb 2025.
• The country's Monthly Earnings stood at 3,200.2 USD in Dec 2024.

In 2021, the school-age population in South Korea comprises 7.64 million people. This is a sharp decline from the 1980 population of 14.4 million. It is expected that this trend of decline will continue, with projection of the 2060 school-age population comprising of only 4.19 million people.