Has the population peaked? in South Korea
South Korea: Has the population peaked? was 51.75 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
51.75 million people
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
29th
of 236 countries
All-time high
51.86 million people
in 2020
All-time low
19.76 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Has the population peaked? in South Korea, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2023, has the population peaked? in South Korea stood at 51.75 million people.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, has the population peaked? in South Korea peaked at 51.86 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 19.76 million people, in 1950.
That places South Korea 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Has the population peaked? in South Korea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 19.76 million people | — |
| 1951 | 19.87 million people | +0.6% |
| 1952 | 20.23 million people | +1.8% |
| 1953 | 20.78 million people | +2.7% |
| 1954 | 21.42 million people | +3.1% |
| 1955 | 22.13 million people | +3.3% |
| 1956 | 22.87 million people | +3.4% |
| 1957 | 23.66 million people | +3.4% |
| 1958 | 24.47 million people | +3.4% |
| 1959 | 25.30 million people | +3.4% |
| 1960 | 26.12 million people | +3.2% |
| 1961 | 26.85 million people | +2.8% |
| 1962 | 27.51 million people | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 28.15 million people | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 28.75 million people | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 29.28 million people | +1.9% |
| 1966 | 29.85 million people | +1.9% |
| 1967 | 30.50 million people | +2.2% |
| 1968 | 31.18 million people | +2.2% |
| 1969 | 31.85 million people | +2.2% |
| 1970 | 32.54 million people | +2.2% |
| 1971 | 33.24 million people | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 33.94 million people | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 34.63 million people | +2.0% |
| 1974 | 35.29 million people | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 35.88 million people | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 36.38 million people | +1.4% |
| 1977 | 36.84 million people | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 37.28 million people | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 37.71 million people | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 38.14 million people | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 38.69 million people | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 39.36 million people | +1.7% |
| 1983 | 40.00 million people | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 40.60 million people | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 41.15 million people | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 41.72 million people | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 42.32 million people | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 42.92 million people | +1.4% |
| 1989 | 43.52 million people | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 44.08 million people | +1.3% |
| 1991 | 44.44 million people | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 44.65 million people | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 44.89 million people | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 45.13 million people | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 45.37 million people | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 45.64 million people | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 45.94 million people | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 46.23 million people | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 46.50 million people | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 46.77 million people | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 47.04 million people | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 47.30 million people | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 47.51 million people | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 47.70 million people | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 47.85 million people | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 48.01 million people | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 48.18 million people | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 48.36 million people | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 48.55 million people | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 48.77 million people | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 49.13 million people | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 49.60 million people | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 50.07 million people | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 50.54 million people | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 50.98 million people | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 51.30 million people | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 51.49 million people | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 51.64 million people | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 51.77 million people | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 51.86 million people | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 51.85 million people | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 51.78 million people | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 51.75 million people | -0.1% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 51.75 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.98 million people, 17.4× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 51.75 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.38 million people, 37.4× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 22.05 million people | 19.76 million people | 25.30 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 29.00 million people | 26.12 million people | 31.85 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 35.37 million people | 32.54 million people | 37.71 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 40.84 million people | 38.14 million people | 43.52 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 45.29 million people | 44.08 million people | 46.50 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.73 million people | 46.77 million people | 48.55 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.53 million people | 48.77 million people | 51.77 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.81 million people | 51.75 million people | 51.86 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More population data for South Korea
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -2.17 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -1.17 % change on previous year (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.3601 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -1.4% (2100)
- Population density 223.86 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 599,530 people (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -1.4% (2100)
- Number of people living in urban and rural areas, annual growth rate -0.0908 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is has the population peaked? in South Korea?
- Has the population peaked? in South Korea was 51.75 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest has the population peaked? recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 51.86 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest has the population peaked? recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.76 million people in 1950.
- How does South Korea rank for has the population peaked??
- South Korea ranks 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is has the population peaked? rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Has the population peaked?. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown.