Asia
Overview
Demography
Capital: Seoul
Currency: South Korean Won
Population: 51.69 mln
Population density: 530/km2
Conventions
Numbering system
Arabic numbering system with the comma as decimal separator
Date format: dd – mm – yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 0055
Economy
GDP: 1.87 trillion USD (2025)
GDP per capita: 36,227 USD (2025)
Exports: 721 billion USD (2024)
Imports: 621 billion USD (2024)
T-index
1.3%
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.
Statistics
Internet users: 97.9% penetration, 60.9 million
Unemployment rate: 2.7% (2025)
Urbanisation: 81% (2025)
Global Innovation Index: 4th out of 139 countries worldwide
Literacy: 98%
Language data sources: Worldatlas/Britannica//EF/Wikipedia; Demography data sources: IMF/Worldometers; Conventions data source: Wikipedia; Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal; Statistics data sources: Datareportal/WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF/Culturalatlas/Commisceoglobal
If you need other information, below you can find a selection of economic/social/cultural data
Economy
GDP
1.87 trillion USD (2025)
Trade – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 5th out of 130 countries
The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exports.
Product Imports
$621 billion (2024)
Service Imports
$184.66 billion (2025)
Market Growth Imports
3.8% of annual growth (2025)
Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of age)
• 96.7% have an account with a financial institution
• 68.4% have a credit card
• 96.2% make digital payment
Active E-commerce
114,091 active stores
GDP Growth (annual %)
1%
GDP per Capita
$36,227 (2025)
Product Exports
$721 billion (2024)
Service Exports
$150.4 billion (2025)
Market Growth Exports
4.2% of annual growth (2025)
Main online stores
Coupang, Naver Shopping, Gmarket, 11st (11Street), Musinsa, Olive Young, Market Kurly, SSG.com, W Concept, YesStyle
Global Startup Ecosystem Index
South Korea ranked 19th out of 100 countries, 20.6% of annual ecosystem growth
The Global Startup Ecosystem Index ranks countries and by the strength of their startup ecosystems. It evaluates factors such as startup activity, ecosystem quality, and the business environment for entrepreneurship.
Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal
Trade balance of goods from 2012 to 2024
Source: Statista
Perception of products made in selected countries in 2017
Source: Statista
Which attributes do you associate with products made in South Korea
Source: Statista
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)
Source: WorldBank
T-index
Reach most of the online purchasing power
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales. It estimates the market share of each country in relation to global e-commerce.
Try it nowMedia
Media language Korean
The press
Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, Hankyoreh, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankook Ilbo
News Agency
Yonhap News Agency, Yonhap News Agency English, Newsis, News1 Korea, Korea.net News, Korean Culture and Information Service
Magazines
Vogue Korea, Elle Korea, W Korea, GQ Korea, Harper’s Bazaar Korea, Marie Claire Korea
Television
KBS 1TV, KBS 2TV, MBC TV, SBS TV, EBS 1TV, EBS 2TV
Radio
KBS 1Radio, KBS 2Radio Happy FM, KBS 3Radio, KBS Classic FM, KBS Cool FM, KBS World Radio
Media data source: Globalmedialist
Internet Data
Internet users
97.9% penetration, 60.9 million
Share of web traffic by device
56.99% mobile phones, 42.32% computers (laptops and desktops), 0.68% tablet devices and 0% other devices
Median speed of mobile Internet connection
224.54 Mbps (Download)
22.17 Mbps (Upload)
Median speed of fixed Internet connection
233.15 Mbps (Download)
184.80 Mbps (Upload)
Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 118%
Most popular web search engines
Naver (46.18%), Google (45.21%), Bing (5.32%), Daum (1.06%), Yandex (0.91%), Cốc Cốc (0.61%), Yahoo! (0.44%), Others (0.27%).
Share of AI web traffic referrals
ChatGPT (80.43%), Perplexity (12.54%), Google Gemini (3.53%), Microsoft Copilot (2.56%), Claude (0.84%), DeepSeek (0.10%).
Most used social media
KakaoTalk (83.2%), YouTube (66.3%), Instagram (62.3%), Facebook (35.4%), TikTok (34.1%), X (20.5%), KakaoStory (16.7%), LINE (15.2%), Messenger (14.3%), iMessage (13.5%), Pinterest (11.2%), Threads (10.0%), Telegram (9.9%), Discord (7.2%), Reddit (3.9%)
Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 99.6%
Internet data sources: Datareportal/Statcounter
Social statistics
Life expectancy
84 yrs (2024)
Current health expenditure
8.68% of GDP
Current education expenditure
92.2% of total expenditure in public institutions
CO2 emissions
11.29 metric tons per capita
Corruption perceptions Index
South Korea scored 63 out of 100, ranked 31st out 182 countries worldwide.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries by perceived levels of public sector corruption. It is based on expert assessments and business surveys, with higher scores indicating lower perceived corruption.
Religion
None (56.9%), Protestant (19.7%), Buddhist (15.5%), Catholic (7.9%)
Ethnicity
Korean, Homogeneous
World Happiness Index
South Korea ranked 67 out of 147 countries, with a score of 6.040
The World Happiness Index ranks countries by people’s self-reported life satisfaction. It also considers factors like income, health, social support, freedom, and trust.
Social statistics sources: WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF/World Population Review
Research & Development
R&D Expenditure
4.94% of GDP
World Competitiveness Ranking
South Korea ranked 21st out of 70 countries, with a score of 75.6
The World Competitiveness Ranking measures how well countries create an environment that supports business performance and long-term prosperity.
It evaluates factors such as economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
World Digital Competitiveness Ranking
South Korea ranked 15th out of 69 countries, with a score of 86.55
The World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measures how well countries adopt and develop digital technologies to drive economic transformation.
It assesses factors such as knowledge, technology, and future readiness.
Technology – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 32nd out of 97 countries
Research – Economic Complexity Index
Ranked 71st out of 138 countries
The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exports.
Global Innovation Index
Ranked 1st out of 17 South East Asian countries, and 4th out of 139 countries worldwide.
The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 139 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.
Research & Development sources: WorldBank/OEC/Wipo/IMD
Country Curiosities
In Korea, the number four is considered unlucky because its pronunciation, “sa,” is similar to the word for death. This superstition is so strong that many buildings skip the number four in their floor numbering, replacing it with “F” for “floor.” This cultural aversion to the number four reflects a deep-rooted fear of death, common in various East Asian cultures, that influences approaches to architecture and daily life.
Additionally…
- A Korean person born on the same day as you is considered one year older because the gestation period is counted. A newborn is considered one year old.
- It is customary to give toilet paper, soap, and cleaning products as housewarming gifts, as this is believed to bring good luck. This tradition dates from the period after the Korean War, when such items were considered luxurious.
- Makeup for men is popular thanks to the influence of K-pop. It is common to see male idols wearing lipstick, mascara, or foundation, reflecting the importance of appearance in Korean society.
- South Korea’s medical sector is experiencing a plastic surgery boom and employs almost 2,600 specialists. Both young men and women often undergo cosmetic procedures, making the country a hotspot for medical tourism.
- Instead of WhatsApp, South Koreans use KakaoTalk for messaging, voice messages, video calls, and sending stickers.
- Rather than the wooden or plastic chopsticks used in China and Japan, Koreans use metal chopsticks, historically made of silver to detect poison.
- South Korea’s public transport is highly efficient. Metro stations play different music for each line, have arrows indicating where to stand, and use the T-money card, a prepaid card for transport and shopping.
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