Korea South People 2024, CIA World Factbook
Population
51,966,948 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean
Ethnic groups
homogeneous
Languages
Korean, English (widely taught in elementary, junior high, and high school)
major-language sample(s):
월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Korean audio sample:
Religions
Protestant 19.7%, Buddhist 15.5%, Catholic 7.9%, none 56.9% (2015 est.)
note: many people also carry on at least some Confucian traditions and practices
Age structure
0-14 years: 11.53% (male 3,072,352/female 2,916,984)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 18,788,714/female 17,639,714)
65 years and over: 18.38% (2023 est.) (male 4,196,789/female 5,352,395)
2023 population pyramid: 
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 39.9
youth dependency ratio: 16.6
elderly dependency ratio: 23.3
potential support ratio: 4.3 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 45 years (2023 est.)
male: 43.5 years
female: 46.8 years
Population growth rate
0.23% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
2.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Population distribution
with approximately 70% of the country considered mountainous, the country's population is primarily concentrated in the lowland areas, where density is quite high; Gyeonggi Province in the northwest, which surrounds the capital of Seoul and contains the port of Incheon, is the most densely populated province; Gangwon in the northeast is the least populated
Urbanization
urban population: 81.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.31% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
9.988 million SEOUL (capital), 3.472 million Busan, 2.849 million Incheon, 2.181 million Daegu (Taegu), 1.577 million Daejon (Taejon), 1.529 million Gwangju (Kwangju) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
32.2 years (2019 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 83.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 80.1 years
female: 86.4 years
Total fertility rate
1.11 children born/woman (2023 est.)
note: some sources estimate the TFR to be as low as 0.78
Gross reproduction rate
0.54 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
82.3% (2018)
note: percent of women aged 20-49
Drinking water source
improved: urban: N/A
rural: N/A
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: N/A
rural: N/A
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
8.4% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
2.48 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
Hospital bed density
12.4 beds/1,000 population (2018)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: N/A
rural: N/A
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: N/A
rural: N/A
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
4.7% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 7.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 5.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 20.8% (2020 est.)
male: 35.7% (2020 est.)
female: 5.9% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.9% (2019/21) NA
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
52.9% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
4.7% of GDP (2019 est.)
Literacy
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 16 years (2020)
NOTE: The information regarding Korea South on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea South 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea South 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.