Life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea
South Korea: Life expectancy at birth, total was 83.43 years in 2023. β² Rising
Life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea, 1970β2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 83.43 years for life expectancy at birth, total in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea peaked at 83.53 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 62.16 years, in 1970.
South Korea ranks 13th of 212 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 63.93 years | 62.16 years | 65.55 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.53 years | 66.05 years | 71.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 73.54 years | 71.6 years | 75.41 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.94 years | 75.91 years | 79.97 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.73 years | 80.12 years | 83.23 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.27 years | 82.68 years | 83.53 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More population data for South Korea
- Population growth rate by level of development -1.45 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 599,530 (2100)
- Population density 223.86 (2100)
- Population growth rate -1.45 (2100)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 0.748 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 4,241 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 0.748 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception 0.748 (2024)
- Natural population growth -0.2109 (2023)
- Fertility rate with projections 0.72 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea was 83.43 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 83.53 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 62.16 years in 1970.
- How does South Korea rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- South Korea ranks 13th out of 212 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release