Atlas › Countries

South Korea

Republic of Korea · Eastern Asia

Position of South Korea on a world map

At a glance

CapitalSeoul
Most common first languageKorean97% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languageKorean
Currencywon
Drives on theright
Highest pointHallasan1,947 m
Biggest category of goods exportedmanufactured goods87% of goods exports, 2024
Services share of exports17.3%of everything sold abroad, 2025
Internet domain.kr

Facts about South Korea

South Korea’s factories run more industrial robots per worker than anywhere else on Earth.

Source: ifr.org · checked 2026-08-08

South Korea’s two chipmakers together supply more than 70% of the world's DRAM memory chips.

Source: theprint.in · checked 2026-08-08

South Korea by the numbers

Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.

MeasureValueRank
PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year.51.7m (2025)29th
of 209
GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices.$1.87tn (2025)13th
of 203
Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory.97.6k km² (2023)106th
of 209
Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations.$47.6bn (2024)11th
of 151
Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined.$857bn (2025)11th
of 180
Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents.89.2m (2024)21st
of 205
Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive.62.6k km² (2023)67th
of 203
Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture.15.7k km² (2023)128th
of 206
COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes.588 Mt (2024)9th
of 198
Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them.42.0m (2025)23rd
of 209
Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed.83.6 years (2024)14th
of 209
GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population.$36,227 (2025)43rd
of 205
Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months.97.9% (2024)13th
of 191
InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods.2.1% (2025)121st
of 182
UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one.2.7% (2025)157th
of 185
Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas.81.2% (2025)49th
of 209
Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates.0.75 (2024)208th
of 209
Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces.2.56% of GDP (2024)38th
of 155
Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies.86.4% of GDP (2025)84th
of 183
COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population.11.38 t (2024)17th
of 198
Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1.0.937 (2023)20th
of 193

Land borders

🇰🇵 North Korea

Across the water

Close by sea, with no shared land border.

🇨🇳 China🇯🇵 Japan

South Korea shares these with other countries

Drives on the right 149Has a coast and land neighbours 115Has korean as its most common first language 2Has korean as an official language 2Is a member of the g20 19Mainly exports manufactured goods 83Is in eastern asia 7

South Korea in the Daily Ceteris

Questions from the daily puzzle where the answer is South Korea.

Which country's factories run more industrial robots per worker than anywhere else on Earth?

South Korea runs 1,220 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers — over nine times the global average of 132, and half as many again as second-placed Singapore. A shrinking, ageing workforce and high wages made automation cheaper than labour here sooner than anywhere else. source

Which country's two chipmakers together supply more than 70% of the world's DRAM memory chips?

Samsung and SK Hynix's grip on memory chips is a separate game from Taiwan's lead in logic chips, showing that 'the semiconductor industry' actually splits into distinct, geographically separate sub-markets. source

Among OECD countries, which has the largest gender pay gap?

Full-time South Korean women earn about 29% less than men, nearly triple the OECD average gap, driven partly by a steep 'motherhood penalty' that pushes women out of work after their first child. source

Keep going

Compare South Korea with another countryPlay Guess the Country

Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
Games · Learn · Atlas · Privacy