Korea, Democratic People's Republic of vs South Africa: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
64.2%
in 2025
South Africa
63.8%
in 2025
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of rank
125th
South Africa rank
127th

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 over time

  • Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
  • South Africa
0204060100015122025

How they compare

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of currently reports 64.2% against 63.8% in South Africa, a difference of 0.4%.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was South Africa ahead.

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ranks 125th and South Africa ranks 127th of 238 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 36.

Head to head by decade

Decade Korea, Democratic People's Republic of South Africa Difference Ahead
1000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% South Africa
1100s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% South Africa
1200s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% South Africa
1300s 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% South Africa
1400s 0.0% 0.2% 0.1% South Africa
1500s 0.1% 0.5% 0.4% South Africa
1600s 0.3% 1.4% 1.1% South Africa
1700s 0.8% 4.2% 3.4% South Africa
1710s 0.7% 4.8% 4.1% South Africa
1720s 0.8% 5.3% 4.5% South Africa
1730s 1.0% 5.9% 4.9% South Africa
1740s 1.1% 6.5% 5.3% South Africa
1750s 1.3% 7.0% 5.7% South Africa
1760s 1.5% 7.6% 6.0% South Africa
1770s 1.8% 8.1% 6.3% South Africa
1780s 2.1% 8.7% 6.6% South Africa
1790s 2.4% 9.2% 6.8% South Africa
1800s 2.8% 9.8% 6.9% South Africa
1810s 3.3% 10.3% 7.0% South Africa
1820s 3.9% 10.9% 7.0% South Africa
1830s 4.5% 11.4% 6.9% South Africa
1840s 5.2% 12.0% 6.7% South Africa
1850s 6.1% 12.5% 6.4% South Africa
1860s 7.1% 13.1% 5.9% South Africa
1870s 8.3% 13.6% 5.3% South Africa
1880s 9.7% 14.2% 4.5% South Africa
1890s 11.3% 14.7% 3.4% South Africa
1900s 13.2% 15.3% 2.1% South Africa
1910s 15.4% 18.0% 2.6% South Africa
1920s 18.0% 20.7% 2.7% South Africa
1930s 21.0% 24.7% 3.7% South Africa
1940s 24.5% 28.9% 4.4% South Africa
1950s 21.0% 44.5% 23.5% South Africa
1960s 47.0% 47.3% 0.3% South Africa
1970s 56.1% 48.0% 8.1% Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
1980s 57.5% 49.4% 8.1% Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
1990s 59.0% 53.4% 5.6% Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
2000s 59.7% 59.4% 0.3% Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
2010s 61.3% 63.1% 1.9% South Africa
2020s 63.4% 63.6% 0.2% South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of or South Africa?
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, at 64.2% against 63.8% in South Africa as of 2025.
What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 between Korea, Democratic People's Republic of and South Africa?
0.4%, with Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Korea, Democratic People's Republic of and South Africa?
108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Korea, Democratic People's Republic of and South Africa rank globally for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ranks 125th and South Africa ranks 127th of 238 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Korea, Democratic People's Republic of vs South Africa: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/urban-population-share-2050/korea-dem-people-s-rep/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 24,444 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.