East Asia & Pacific
A life that begins in Korea, Rep.
One in every 552 babies in the world is born here: about 242,917 a year, 0.46 a minute.
- Population
- 51,684,564
- Births a year
- 242,917
- Life expectancy
- 83.7
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 2.8
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
86.6
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
80.8
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
2.3
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
2.8
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
4
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
≈ 0.3
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
19
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
7.8
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
8.6
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
0.48
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
0.75
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
≈ 15
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
97
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
96
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
100
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
≈ 11.5
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$55,697
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
33
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
0.1
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
2.7
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
5
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
57
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
34
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
81
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
100
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
100
World: 91
Internet users (%)
98
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
6.04
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0
World: 0.34
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 53.9 → 2026: 84.4 → 2050: 87.4
World
1960: 113 → 2026: 3 → 2050: 2
World
1960: 6 → 2026: 0.83 → 2050: 1
World
1960: 28 → 2026: 81 → 2050: 83
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Korea, Rep. comes up about once in every 552 lives.
Be born nowCompare Korea, Rep. with
Other countries in East Asia & Pacific
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.