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South Korea

Population

51,577,788

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
31st
Share of world
0.62%
Annual change
−66,6410.10%

Population of South Korea

10M20M30M40M50M60M95% prediction intervalPeak202651.6M2050 projection45.1M↓ 12% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

Current population estimate: 51,577,788. 2050 projection: 45,143,133.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for South Korea. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
202651,600,3880.10%31
202551,667,0290.07%29
202051,858,4820.18%28
201951,767,8460.25%27
201851,640,8940.30%27
201751,486,2700.37%27
201550,983,9120.89%27
201048,769,3320.38%26
200547,851,6440.46%25
200046,766,6610.61%26

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Seoul is home to 9,217,913 people, 17.86% of South Korea's population.

City population9M4M1M
Seoul 9.2MBusan 3.2MIncheon 3.0MDaegu 2.3MDaejeon 1.4MSuwon 1.2MYongin 1.2MHwaseong 1.2MGoyang 1.1MUlsan 1.1M
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Seoul9.2M17.86%
2Busan3.2M6.27%
3Incheon3.0M5.84%
4Daegu2.3M4.55%
5Daejeon1.4M2.77%
6Suwon1.2M2.38%
7Yongin1.2M2.31%
8Hwaseong1.2M2.30%
9Goyang1.1M2.16%
10Ulsan1.1M2.13%

South Korea by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
South Korea is home to an estimated 51,577,788 people, the 31st largest population in the world.
Daily change
South Korea has a net population change of approximately -200 people per day, driven by 683 births, 1,055 deaths, and net immigration of 172 people.
Share of world
South Korea makes up 0.62% of the world's population and 1.03% of Asia's.
Density
528.7 people per km² of land (1,369.3 per mi²), ranking 27th among countries and territories.
Urban living
81.17% of people live in urban areas.

South Korea Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 684100+ years, female: 12,42895–99 years, male: 11,84595–99 years, female: 78,66390–94 years, male: 82,87390–94 years, female: 269,59285–89 years, male: 275,75385–89 years, female: 559,16080–84 years, male: 529,06380–84 years, female: 786,09075–79 years, male: 835,45175–79 years, female: 1,024,36370–74 years, male: 1,275,95170–74 years, female: 1,444,42265–69 years, male: 1,874,64665–69 years, female: 1,998,62560–64 years, male: 2,020,05360–64 years, female: 2,038,25055–59 years, male: 2,184,63755–59 years, female: 2,193,61550–54 years, male: 2,112,89850–54 years, female: 2,062,72545–49 years, male: 2,008,27145–49 years, female: 1,927,54540–44 years, male: 1,897,65940–44 years, female: 1,768,96135–39 years, male: 1,753,72235–39 years, female: 1,562,90530–34 years, male: 1,965,04930–34 years, female: 1,699,28825–29 years, male: 1,752,24925–29 years, female: 1,596,53120–24 years, male: 1,344,76620–24 years, female: 1,244,31315–19 years, male: 1,205,37115–19 years, female: 1,136,08910–14 years, male: 1,142,17110–14 years, female: 1,088,1765–9 years, male: 818,4725–9 years, female: 778,6810–4 years, male: 635,2780–4 years, female: 603,105100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–41M1M2M2M

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

47.2 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

84.6 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

49.86%

Female

50.14%

Life expectancy 81.6Life expectancy 87.5

Ethnicity

Percentages are not reported for these groups.

  • KoreanNot reported

Some groups have no reported percentage.

Data notes

Source estimate: est.

Korean: homogeneous

Religion

56.9%

None, the largest reported group

  • None56.9%
  • Protestant19.7%
  • Buddhist15.5%
  • Catholic7.9%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2015 est.

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - South Korea United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. Statistics Korea (KOSTAT)
  5. Statistics Korea (KOSTAT)